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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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468
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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. spell — magic
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spell — a short time
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spell — letters
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. dip — to sink
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fine — high quality
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — a match
  23. clip — a video
  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