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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 120 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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. clip — for paper
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. drill — army training
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. saw — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wax — to grow
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. row — a line
  22. clip — a video
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. clip — to cut

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