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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: cabinet · clip · club · lash · fork · rule

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. club — for golf
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. club — for dancing
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rule — a law
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. club — a group

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