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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. season — of the year
  3. cell — in biology
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. current — electric
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. clip — a video
  8. current — of water
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kid — child
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. season — in sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. kid — to tease
  20. game — wild animals
  21. current — happening now
  22. game — a match
  23. cell — a phone
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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