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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. rash — a series
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. kick — in football
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. rash — hasty
  13. clip — a video
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. tube — a container
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. pass — a permit
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. lash — an eyelash

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