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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: clip · calf · nail · fall · last · trunk · wind · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. fall — the season
  3. clip — for paper
  4. last — finally
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — final
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. clip — to cut
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fall — to drop
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wind — moving air
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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