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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: clip · lash · present · land · band · perch · craft · wake

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. band — a ring
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. land — ground
  10. wake — a trail
  11. present — there
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a music group
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. present — the time now
  18. land — to come down
  19. present — a gift
  20. clip — to cut
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. land — a country
  24. perch — for a bird

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