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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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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: key · season · rest · clip · squash · snap · lash · wind

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. season — of the year
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rest — what's left
  9. season — in sport
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. squash — to crush
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. key — for a lock
  17. snap — to click
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. key — the most important part
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wind — moving air

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