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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. field — a subject
  5. rash — a series
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. field — farmland
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. field — for sport
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. club — for dancing
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. club — for golf
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. club — a group
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. lash — to lash out

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