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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. capital — a city
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. chip — to eat
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. clip — a video
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. plane — a tool
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. clip — to cut
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kick — in football
  24. clip — for paper

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