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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: lash · wave · bark · pound · land · clip · capital · swing

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. clip — to cut
  3. swing — music
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. swing — in golf
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bark — to shout
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. land — ground
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. clip — a video
  18. land — to come down
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. land — a country
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. pound — a weight
  24. capital — money

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