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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 116 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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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: ruler · wind · bark · sharp · cold · lash · clip · press

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. press — newspapers
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — an illness
  7. clip — for paper
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wind — moving air
  12. sharp — clever
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. clip — a video
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cold — not warm
  22. press — to push
  23. bark — to shout
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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