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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: clip · lash · fall · band · squash · perch · row · court

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. fall — the season
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fall — to drop
  5. row — a line
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. squash — to crush
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — for paper
  13. court — of a king
  14. fall — to drop
  15. band — a ring
  16. row — to paddle
  17. court — of law
  18. squash — the sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. band — a music group
  21. court — for sport
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. clip — a video

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