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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 124 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cap — a hat
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pop — soda
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cap — of ice
  10. pop — to visit
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rash — hasty
  13. clip — for paper
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — a video
  16. rash — a series
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. pop — music
  24. kid — child

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