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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. toast — bread
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — to rob
  11. clip — to cut
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ground — crushed
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ground — the earth
  21. game — a match
  22. ground — a position
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mug — a face

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