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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
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · cell · spring · lash · chair · craft

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. craft — a skill
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cell — a phone
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. craft — boats
  13. spring — of water
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cell — in biology
  18. chair — a leader

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