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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — steady
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bear — the animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. last — to go on
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. foot — a measure
  16. last — final
  17. kid — child
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — a video
  20. firm — decided
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wind — moving air
  23. last — finally
  24. lash — an eyelash

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