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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: pit · press · safe · cold · row · lash · game · clip

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. clip — a video
  9. cold — an illness
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. row — to paddle
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. row — a line
  15. cold — not warm
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — to push
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. press — newspapers
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a hole

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