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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: rash · rest · clip · bark · wound · perch · wake · club

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. club — a group
  6. rest — what's left
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. clip — a video
  10. rest — a break
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wake — a trail
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rash — a series
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. club — for dancing
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. club — for golf
  24. rest — what's left

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