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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · prune · file · bark · fan · leaves · toast · lash

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. toast — bread
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. clip — for paper
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. file — a document
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. fan — a supporter

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