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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ground — a position
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. clip — for paper
  8. object — to protest
  9. bank — for money
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. object — a thing
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pound — a weight
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — a video
  18. object — an aim
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bank — for money
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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