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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 120 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: stand · rush · wind · dip · lash · fine · cap · clip

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rush — hurry
  11. stand — to bear
  12. cap — a lid
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. dip — to sink
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. clip — a video
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fine — high quality
  23. cap — of ice
  24. dip — to dunk

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