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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. clip — to cut
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stem — to come from
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. march — music
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. clip — a video
  19. march — the month
  20. bear — the animal
  21. march — the month
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. shower — rain
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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