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

Word bank: lash · clip · kick · spring · bore · fall · band · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. fall — to drop
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fall — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. spring — a coil
  14. clip — to cut
  15. spring — the season
  16. band — a ring
  17. last — final
  18. kick — in football
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — a video
  21. bore — to tire
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. bore — to drill
  24. fall — to drop

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