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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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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: perch · present · racket · clip · fan · bark · kid · lash

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. present — there
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bark — to shout

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