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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bear — the animal
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bound — obliged
  7. stand — to bear
  8. kid — child
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bound — tied together
  16. kid — to tease
  17. club — for dancing
  18. spring — the season
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bound — certain
  21. spring — of water
  22. clip — a video
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — a group

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