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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. clip — a video
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. file — a line of people
  9. game — a match
  10. file — a tool
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. snap — to click
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. file — a document
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. game — wild animals
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. clip — for paper

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