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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. track — a path
  3. pit — in a race
  4. clip — to cut
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. pitch — completely
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. degree — from a university
  12. clip — for paper
  13. lie — to recline
  14. pit — a hole
  15. wake — a trail
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. clip — a video

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