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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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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 · stick · bulb · hide · lash · squash · race · hand

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. race — humankind
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — help
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bulb — for light
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bulb — for light
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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