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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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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: row · snap · fork · clip · wind · field · trunk · lash

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fork — in a road
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. snap — to click
  8. field — a subject
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. field — farmland
  19. clip — a video
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. field — for sport
  22. row — to paddle
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. clip — for paper

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