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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 116 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: court · kick · bark · lash · clip · mate · bass · race

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bass — low music
  6. mate — a friend
  7. court — for sport
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mate — to breed
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bark — to shout
  15. kick — in football
  16. court — of a king
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. race — a contest
  20. mate — a partner
  21. court — of law
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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