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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 116 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 · game · rest · mark · lash · fall · face · swing

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — a trace
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. face — to point toward
  6. mark — a grade
  7. game — wild animals
  8. rest — a break
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. rest — what's left
  15. swing — music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. clip — a video
  22. face — to confront
  23. clip — to cut
  24. face — part of the head

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