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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kid — child
  3. spring — of water
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bass — low music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — to cut
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spring — the season
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bass — the fish
  22. saw — the tool
  23. clip — for paper
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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