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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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468
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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. spell — a short time
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. clip — a video
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chip — to eat
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chip — for betting
  14. spell — magic
  15. cell — in biology
  16. spell — letters
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cell — a phone
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fork — a garden tool

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