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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. clip — for paper
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cell — in biology
  10. squash — to crush
  11. swing — music
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. swing — to play on
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. ground — the earth
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cabinet — ministers

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