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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: race · lash · spell · trunk · bark · clip · staff · rule

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. rule — government
  3. race — a contest
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rule — a law
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. spell — letters
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. staff — a stick
  13. clip — a video
  14. staff — employees
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. spell — magic
  19. race — humankind
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bark — to shout
  24. clip — to cut

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