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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: lash · clip · leaves · kid · coach · file · mate · cell

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. clip — a video
  3. file — a document
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — a phone
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. kid — to tease
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. clip — to cut
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. mate — a partner
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mate — to breed
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. clip — for paper
  23. kid — child
  24. lash — an eyelash

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