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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. clip — a video
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. clip — for paper
  8. current — happening now
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. current — of water
  18. fork — in a road
  19. current — electric
  20. wake — a trail
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — for baseball

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