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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. clip — a video
  3. mate — a friend
  4. ground — the earth
  5. clip — to cut
  6. field — a subject
  7. mate — a partner
  8. race — humankind
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. race — a contest
  11. mate — to breed
  12. field — for sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — farmland
  15. race — the arms race
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. ground — a position
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. ground — crushed
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tear — from crying

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