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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: deal · roll · clip · rush · game · rest · chest · lash

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chest — of your body
  3. game — wild animals
  4. roll — a cake
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. rest — a break
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. deal — to handle
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. rest — what's left
  13. game — a match
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. chest — a box
  16. clip — for paper
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. rest — what's left
  19. roll — a list
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — a video
  24. rush — hurry

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