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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pit — a hole
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bat — the animal
  8. spell — letters
  9. cue — a signal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. spell — magic
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. toast — bread
  18. cue — for pool
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. pit — in a race
  21. clip — a video
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. spell — a short time
  24. last — final

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