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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. drill — the tool
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. court — of a king
  8. face — part of the head
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. face — to confront
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. drill — army training
  14. court — for sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. face — to point toward
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. drill — a practice
  19. court — of law
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. shower — to wash
  24. plane — a tool

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