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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. pound — a weight
  5. scale — in music
  6. mark — a trace
  7. clip — for paper
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mark — a grade
  15. squash — to crush
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. clip — a video
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. squash — the sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. squash — the vegetable

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