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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. game — a match
  3. rest — a break
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — a video
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stem — to come from
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. spring — the season
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spring — of water

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