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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. roll — a cake
  3. ball — a dance
  4. field — farmland
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. clip — for paper
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. ball — a great time
  10. field — for sport
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. stem — to come from
  17. roll — a list
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rule — government
  21. field — a subject
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. rule — to rule out

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