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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: date · clip · mug · pitch · object · scale · cold · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. mug — a cup
  4. clip — to cut
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mug — a face
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mug — to rob
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. scale — size or range
  16. object — to protest
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. object — an aim
  19. scale — in music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. object — a thing
  24. date — the fruit

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