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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: saw · lash · clip · chest · roll · capital · bat · staff

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. chest — of your body
  3. clip — a video
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — money
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chest — a box
  9. staff — employees
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. staff — employees
  19. capital — a city
  20. clip — to cut
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. staff — a stick
  23. roll — a cake
  24. chest — of your body

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