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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. drill — a practice
  4. object — an aim
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rash — hasty
  7. object — a thing
  8. clip — a video
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. season — in sport
  13. drill — army training
  14. wind — moving air
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. object — to protest
  18. rash — a series
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wind — moving air
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. season — of the year
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. drill — the 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