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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. firm — steady
  3. land — a country
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. land — ground
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. firm — a company
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. face — to point toward
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. firm — decided
  15. clip — a video
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pop — soda
  18. face — to confront
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. capital — a city
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. pop — music
  23. land — to come down
  24. pop — to visit

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