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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wake · lash · trunk · rest · clip · march · scale · net

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. scale — in music
  3. clip — for paper
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wake — a trail
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. march — the month
  13. net — after costs
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — a break
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. march — the month
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. net — in sport
  23. march — music
  24. trunk — of a car

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