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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. clip — a video
  3. pound — a weight
  4. rash — a series
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. chair — a leader
  13. clip — to cut
  14. shower — to wash
  15. face — to confront
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. shower — rain
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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