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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rest — a break
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. clip — a video
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bulb — for light
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. rest — what's left
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. deal — to handle
  16. field — for sport
  17. bass — low music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bulb — for light
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. bass — the instrument

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