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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: race · file · lash · wake · trunk · rock · bark · clip

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. clip — for paper
  5. race — humankind
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. clip — to cut
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bark — to shout
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. clip — a video
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. wake — a trail

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