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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: tube · bark · nail · last · present · snap · clip · lash

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. last — to go on
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. present — a gift
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. clip — to cut
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to click
  12. last — finally
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bark — to shout
  16. clip — for paper
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. present — the time now
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. present — there
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. last — final
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — a video

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