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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pass — a permit
  9. season — of the year
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. season — in sport
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. net — after costs
  17. clip — to cut
  18. staff — a stick
  19. clip — a video
  20. staff — employees
  21. rash — a series
  22. staff — employees
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. prune — to trim

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