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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. chest — a box
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. dip — to sink
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rule — a law
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chest — of your body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. rash — a series
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rule — government
  24. dip — a sauce

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