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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 116 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. march — the month
  3. chair — a leader
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — the season
  6. spell — letters
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spell — a short time
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. staff — a stick
  15. spell — magic
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — music
  18. staff — employees
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. staff — employees
  24. spring — of water

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