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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 120 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: lash · current · hand · wound · wave · clip · bark · snap

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. current — happening now
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. hand — help
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. hand — in cards
  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