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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 116 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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. kick — in football
  5. present — there
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. clip — for paper
  9. present — a gift
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ball — a dance
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. present — the time now
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. clip — a video
  22. ball — a great time
  23. hand — help
  24. fork — a garden 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