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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. stem — to come from
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bulb — for light
  18. kick — in football
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. pit — in a race
  23. game — a match
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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