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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. capital — money
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. capital — a city
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kid — child
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. pass — a permit
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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