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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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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: march · scale · staff · lash · clip · mouse · trunk · ball

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. staff — employees
  4. clip — a video
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. ball — a dance
  8. march — the month
  9. scale — size or range
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. clip — for paper
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. march — music
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. ball — a great time
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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