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

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. branch — a division
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. clip — for paper
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. clip — a video
  18. stock — goods
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chest — a box
  24. lash — an eyelash

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