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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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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 · kid · lash · clip · trunk · rest · current · toast

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. toast — bread
  3. clip — a video
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. rest — what's left
  9. current — electric
  10. current — happening now
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. current — of water
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. perch — the fish
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. clip — to cut
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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