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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. kick — in football
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. staff — employees
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bound — obliged
  9. clip — to cut
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. staff — employees
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. clip — a video
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bound — tied together
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bound — certain
  22. staff — a stick
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. row — a line

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