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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. drill — a practice
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. clip — a video
  8. craft — a skill
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. drill — the tool
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chip — to eat
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chip — for betting
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. drill — army training
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wake — a trail
  24. craft — boats

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