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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: toast · key · chest · saw · wound · clip · lash · spring

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. toast — bread
  3. wound — an injury
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. chest — a box
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. key — the most important part
  9. saw — the tool
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — for paper
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. spring — of water
  17. key — for a lock
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spring — a coil
  21. key — in music
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. spring — the season
  24. lash — to lash out

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