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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. spring — the season
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. lie — to recline
  7. club — for dancing
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. clip — to cut
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spring — a coil
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. tear — to rip
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. clip — a video
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. spring — of water
  24. club — for golf

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