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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. field — for sport
  3. wake — a trail
  4. field — farmland
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. clip — a video
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. suit — in cards
  13. tear — from crying
  14. suit — clothes
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. field — a subject
  18. suit — to fit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bark — to shout
  21. board — to get on
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. board — a committee

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