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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fine — high quality
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. fine — all right
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. shower — rain
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mark — a trace
  23. stem — to come from
  24. clip — a video

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