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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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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: lash · ball · clip · bat · band · wound · straw · perch

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. clip — a video
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. band — a music group
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. perch — the fish
  13. clip — to cut
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. clip — for paper
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. wound — an injury

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