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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · lash · spell · race · track · clip · file · bark

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. race — the arms race
  6. track — a song
  7. file — a document
  8. clip — a video
  9. last — to go on
  10. track — to keep track
  11. last — final
  12. spell — a short time
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. race — a contest
  15. clip — to cut
  16. race — humankind
  17. track — a path
  18. last — finally
  19. bark — to shout
  20. spell — magic
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. spell — letters
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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