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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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Word bank
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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: scale · drill · rule · clip · saw · spell · bark · lash

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spell — letters
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. clip — a video
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. drill — army training
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. rule — a law
  14. drill — a practice
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spell — magic
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spell — a short time
  19. scale — in music
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. rule — government
  23. clip — for paper
  24. saw — the tool

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