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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. wound — an injury
  3. suit — clothes
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ball — a dance
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cell — in biology
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cell — a phone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. row — to paddle
  19. suit — in cards
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. clip — a video
  22. row — a line
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fork — in a road

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com