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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: rock · toast · branch · pound · plane · clip · lash · straw

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. clip — for paper
  6. toast — bread
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — to cut
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. plane — a tool
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rock — music
  22. pound — a weight
  23. clip — a video
  24. branch — a division

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