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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.

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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bear — the animal
  4. row — a line
  5. clip — a video
  6. row — to paddle
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. plane — a tool
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bear — the animal
  11. saw — the tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. squash — to crush
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. game — wild animals
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. clip — to cut
  21. game — a match
  22. squash — the sport
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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