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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. net — after costs
  8. spell — letters
  9. drill — army training
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. net — for catching
  14. kid — child
  15. rash — a series
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. clip — to cut
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spell — magic
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rash — hasty
  23. drill — the tool
  24. nail — on a finger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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