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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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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: lash · wave · bass · wind · pound · clip · perch · bat

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bat — the animal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. clip — a video
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wind — moving air
  18. perch — the fish
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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