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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mate — to breed
  5. net — for catching
  6. mate — a friend
  7. net — in sport
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mate — a partner
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — a video
  15. kid — to tease
  16. net — after costs
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wake — a trail
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. kid — child
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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