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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. last — finally
  5. object — to protest
  6. bulb — for light
  7. last — final
  8. clip — a video
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. last — to go on
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kick — in football
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. object — a thing
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bulb — for light
  21. object — an aim
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. row — to paddle

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