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

Word bank: clip · snap · board · wind · lash · arm

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. snap — to click
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. board — a committee
  17. clip — a video
  18. 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