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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. swing — to play on
  3. band — a ring
  4. mate — to breed
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mate — a partner
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. mate — a friend
  10. band — a music group
  11. date — the fruit
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. race — humankind
  16. clip — a video
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. clip — for paper
  19. race — a contest
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. race — the arms race

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