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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: season · straw · clip · mate · face · hand · lash · fan

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. hand — help
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. clip — to cut
  9. season — of the year
  10. mate — to breed
  11. face — to confront
  12. mate — a friend
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. face — to point toward
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. face — part of the head
  17. clip — a video
  18. mate — a partner
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hand — in cards

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