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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lean — to bend
  3. land — to come down
  4. last — to go on
  5. degree — temperature
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lean — thin
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. land — ground
  10. rash — hasty
  11. clip — a video
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. clip — for paper
  14. last — final
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. rash — a series
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. land — a country
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. last — finally
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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