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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: last · bass · stick · fork · lash · cold · race · clip

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. clip — to cut
  4. last — to go on
  5. race — the arms race
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. race — humankind
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. clip — a video
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. last — final
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. race — a contest
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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