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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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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: chair · bark · spell · land · clip · race · lash · mouse

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. race — a contest
  18. chair — a leader
  19. clip — a video
  20. spell — magic
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chair — to sit on

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