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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cold — an illness
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rock — music
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rock — a stone
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. clip — a video
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. dip — to sink
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. cold — not warm
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. dip — a sauce

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