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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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Word bank
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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: spring · clip · last · deal · trunk · board · lash · drill

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. clip — a video
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — army training
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. drill — the tool
  8. deal — to handle
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. spring — the season
  11. board — a committee
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. last — finally
  15. board — to get on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spring — of water
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. clip — for paper
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. board — a flat piece

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