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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: kick · clip · lash · mark · vault · snap · wake · bark

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. vault — a safe
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. kick — in football
  16. clip — a video
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  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