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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. shower — rain
  4. mug — a cup
  5. race — humankind
  6. spring — of water
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. clip — a video
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. spring — the season
  11. date — the fruit
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mug — a face
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spring — a coil
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kick — in football

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