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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. capital — a city
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. rash — a series
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — a company
  18. clip — a video
  19. firm — decided
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hide — animal skin

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