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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. capital — money
  3. club — for golf
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mark — a grade
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. club — for dancing
  10. clip — a video
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. capital — a city
  18. rash — hasty
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. club — a group
  23. rash — a series
  24. chip — in a computer

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