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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spell — magic
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — a video
  6. chest — a box
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. row — a line
  9. tube — a container
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. tube — the underground
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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