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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: cabinet · season · bay · field · cue · kid · lash · clip

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. season — of the year
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. clip — for paper
  5. season — in sport
  6. cue — for pool
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. clip — a video
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. cue — a signal
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. clip — to cut
  19. field — farmland
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. kid — to tease
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. kid — child

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