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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pass — a permit
  3. ball — a great time
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spring — of water
  6. file — a document
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. net — in sport
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. perch — the fish
  15. file — a line of people
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. clip — to cut
  18. file — a tool
  19. spring — a coil
  20. clip — a video
  21. net — after costs
  22. ball — a dance
  23. net — for catching
  24. pass — to succeed

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