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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. clip — a video
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. last — to go on
  6. rush — hurry
  7. toast — bread
  8. clip — to cut
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. last — final
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. ball — a dance
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. last — finally
  18. tear — from crying
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. ball — a great time
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. tear — from crying
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. tear — to rip

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