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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. mark — a trace
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mark — a grade
  6. clip — a video
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. craft — boats
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pit — in a race
  19. clip — to cut
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pit — a hole
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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