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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · row · present · race · spring · clip · wound · lash

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. race — a contest
  7. present — a gift
  8. spring — the season
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. can — to be able to
  11. can — a tin
  12. present — there
  13. race — humankind
  14. spring — a coil
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wound — an injury
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spring — of water
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. can — a tin
  23. row — a line
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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