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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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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: mouse · fine · lean · wound · spring · rash · cap · clip

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. clip — a video
  3. cap — a lid
  4. spring — the season
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. lean — thin
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fine — all right
  10. spring — of water
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fine — high quality
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cap — of ice
  21. rash — a series
  22. cap — a hat
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. clip — to cut

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