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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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. mouse — the animal
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. fork — in a road
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — for paper
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. staff — employees
  16. game — a match
  17. staff — employees
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. march — music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. staff — a stick
  22. march — the month
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — the month

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