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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. club — for golf
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. spell — magic
  8. club — a group
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — a line
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spell — letters
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. club — for dancing
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. fall — the season

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