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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. land — ground
  3. last — final
  4. land — a country
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. land — to come down
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. last — to go on
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. clip — a video
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. tube — the underground
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bound — obliged
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. last — finally

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