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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: cell · cap · kick · rash · lash · clip · swing · mine

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cap — a hat
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cell — a phone
  9. swing — music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. swing — to play on
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rash — hasty
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. clip — a video
  20. cap — of ice
  21. rash — a series
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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