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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 124 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. clip — a video
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. clip — for paper
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — to cut
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cell — a phone
  13. object — a thing
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. swing — in golf
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. object — to protest
  20. swing — music
  21. object — an aim
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cell — in biology
  24. game — a match

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