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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rash — a series
  4. snap — to click
  5. ground — the earth
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rash — hasty
  9. key — in music
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. spell — letters
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. key — the most important part
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. race — the arms race
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spell — a short time
  23. ground — crushed
  24. spell — magic

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