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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: chest · mate · clip · saw · roll · dip · lash · fall

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. saw — the tool
  4. dip — to sink
  5. clip — a video
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. mate — a partner
  9. chest — a box
  10. fall — to drop
  11. roll — a cake
  12. chest — of your body
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. fall — the season
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chest — of your body
  22. roll — a list
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. saw — the tool

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