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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: roll · sharp · kick · clip · row · pitch · lash · wave

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. roll — a cake
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. sharp — clever
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kick — in football
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. clip — for paper
  14. row — to paddle
  15. roll — a list
  16. row — a line
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pitch — completely
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. clip — a video
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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