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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: row · last · bear · pit · clip · board · lash · chest

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. last — finally
  3. chest — a box
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pit — a hole
  12. last — final
  13. pit — in a race
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. clip — a video
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. clip — for paper
  19. board — to get on
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. last — to go on
  24. board — a committee

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