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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: cap · prune · lash · clip · game · wound · rash · suit

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. rash — a series
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cap — a lid
  12. clip — for paper
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. suit — to fit
  17. rash — hasty
  18. suit — in cards
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. suit — clothes
  23. clip — a video
  24. game — wild animals

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