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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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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: clip · stand · craft · file · bark · straw · snap · lash

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bark — to shout
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. snap — to click
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stand — to bear
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. clip — for paper
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. clip — a video
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. file — a line of people

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