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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. march — music
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bear — the animal
  6. field — a subject
  7. clip — to cut
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bore — to drill
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. field — for sport
  13. march — the month
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. clip — a video
  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