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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: bark · clip · field · stand · spell · lash · pop · wax

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. spell — letters
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. pop — soda
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. field — a subject
  9. pop — to visit
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. field — farmland
  14. clip — a video
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stand — to bear
  17. pop — music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. field — for sport
  20. spell — magic
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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