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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rest — a break
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. scale — size or range
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. clip — a video
  9. scale — in music
  10. shower — rain
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hand — help
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. rest — what's left
  23. hand — in cards
  24. patient — a sick person

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