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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 116 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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468
Word bank
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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. band — a ring
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. snap — to click
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. band — a music group
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chair — a leader
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. perch — the fish
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bear — the animal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bear — the animal
  23. clip — a video
  24. bowl — a football final

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