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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 120 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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. craft — boats
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. band — a ring
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. pound — a weight
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. band — a music group
  21. clip — a video
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. clip — to cut
  24. craft — a handicraft

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