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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: clip · lash · dip · cold · hide · tear · roll · fan

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. roll — a list
  8. tear — from crying
  9. dip — to sink
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — a video
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. roll — a cake
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cold — not warm
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. cold — the Cold War

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