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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. staff — employees
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. row — a line
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. row — to paddle
  11. staff — employees
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. clip — a video
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. band — a music group
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. scale — in music
  22. band — a ring
  23. bark — to shout
  24. clip — for paper

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