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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. spring — a coil
  3. net — in sport
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. spring — the season
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. clip — a video
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spring — of water
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. net — after costs
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. net — for catching
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. clip — to cut
  22. dip — to sink
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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