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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: club · clip · fall · march · face · hand · suit · lash

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. suit — to fit
  4. club — for dancing
  5. hand — in cards
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. face — part of the head
  9. march — the month
  10. suit — clothes
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. face — to confront
  13. march — music
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. face — to point toward
  16. club — for golf
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. suit — in cards
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. march — the month
  22. club — a group
  23. fall — the season
  24. hand — help

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