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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. land — to come down
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. clip — a video
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. spring — the season
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fine — all right
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. land — ground
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. pitch — completely
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pound — a weight
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. land — a country
  23. spring — of water
  24. fine — high quality

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