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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 120 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: fine · lash · clip · band · bat · fork · bark · bass

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. clip — a video
  6. bass — low music
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fork — in a road
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. band — a music group
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bat — the animal
  19. band — a ring
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fine — all right
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. clip — for paper

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