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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. band — a music group
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rush — hurry
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. clip — a video
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. roll — a cake
  12. band — a ring
  13. lean — to bend
  14. foot — a measure
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lean — thin
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cold — not warm
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. roll — a list
  24. lash — to lash out

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