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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. can — a tin
  4. bark — to shout
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bat — the animal
  8. can — a tin
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. clip — for paper
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. can — to be able to
  17. clip — to cut
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. hand — help
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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