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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: roll · clip · ball · snap · wind · race · swing · lash

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. clip — to cut
  3. race — a contest
  4. ball — a great time
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. swing — in golf
  8. race — humankind
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — a video
  11. race — the arms race
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. swing — to play on
  15. clip — for paper
  16. snap — to click
  17. roll — a cake
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. ball — a dance
  22. swing — music
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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