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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. mark — a trace
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bat — the animal
  6. club — a group
  7. clip — for paper
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. club — for dancing
  10. rest — a break
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. clip — to cut
  13. club — for golf
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. spell — a short time
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spell — letters
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. lash — to lash out

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