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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: wound · wave · bound · stick · coach · clip · row · lash

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bound — tied together
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wound — an injury
  9. row — to paddle
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. clip — a video
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bound — obliged
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bound — certain
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. row — a line
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — of the sea

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