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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bound — tied together
  4. club — a group
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bound — obliged
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rush — hurry
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — to grow
  14. saw — the tool
  15. club — for dancing
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. saw — the tool
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bound — certain
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wax — in the ear

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