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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. clip — a video
  6. field — for sport
  7. fine — all right
  8. band — a music group
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bark — to shout
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. field — a subject
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. field — farmland
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. clip — for paper
  20. fine — high quality
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. band — a ring

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