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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lean — thin
  6. season — in sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. shower — to wash
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. lean — to bend
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. clip — for paper
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. season — of the year
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. capital — money

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