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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. clip — for paper
  3. race — humankind
  4. pit — in a race
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. clip — a video
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. game — a match
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. rush — hurry
  17. file — a document
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. race — a contest
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. game — wild animals
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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