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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ground — crushed
  3. stand — to bear
  4. clip — a video
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. clip — to cut
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cold — an illness
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. face — to point toward
  14. ground — a position
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. lash — an eyelash

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