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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. spring — of water
  6. staff — employees
  7. track — a song
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. staff — employees
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. track — to keep track
  17. staff — a stick
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. clip — to cut
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. pit — a hole
  22. clip — a video
  23. track — a path
  24. wax — to grow

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