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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. rest — what's left
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. clip — a video
  14. fine — high quality
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. rest — a break
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fine — all right
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pitcher — a jug

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