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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: wound · lash · stock · board · clip · trunk · wake · mate

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mate — a partner
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. clip — a video
  6. wound — an injury
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wake — a trail
  9. board — a committee
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. board — to get on
  14. clip — to cut
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. mate — to breed
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. mate — a friend
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. trunk — of a tree

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