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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. court — of a king
  4. band — a music group
  5. rash — a series
  6. court — of law
  7. cell — a phone
  8. clip — to cut
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. band — a ring
  13. firm — steady
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rash — hasty
  19. court — for sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. firm — a company
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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