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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rash — a series
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. land — to come down
  7. bound — obliged
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. land — a country
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. tube — the underground
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bound — tied together
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. rash — hasty
  17. clip — a video
  18. snap — to click
  19. clip — for paper
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bound — certain
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. tube — a container

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