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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. kick — in football
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cell — a phone
  9. track — a path
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. track — to keep track
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. ball — a great time
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. track — a song
  20. clip — a video
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. chair — to sit on

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