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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. clip — a video
  4. race — the arms race
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bark — to shout
  8. race — a contest
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bass — low music
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. current — electric
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. race — humankind
  24. lash — to lash out

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