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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: land · branch · trunk · lash · safe · ruler · pound · clip

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  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. lash — to lash out
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. land — ground
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. clip — to cut
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. branch — a division
  10. pound — a weight
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. ruler — for measuring
  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