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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. net — in sport
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wound — an injury
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. kid — child
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kid — to tease
  17. net — after costs
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a trace
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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