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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 116 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. fork — in a road
  5. bore — to drill
  6. object — an aim
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. court — for sport
  13. object — to protest
  14. court — of law
  15. tear — to rip
  16. object — a thing
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. court — of a king
  19. club — for dancing
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bark — of a tree

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