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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. band — a music group
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. press — a publisher
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. squash — the sport
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chest — of your body
  14. band — a ring
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. plane — a tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. press — newspapers
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. clip — to cut
  21. press — to push
  22. squash — to crush
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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