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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. roll — a cake
  4. roll — a list
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. rash — a series
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. file — a document
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. file — a tool
  20. rash — hasty
  21. clip — a video
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. racket — a loud noise

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