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

Word bank: bear · rule · wound · clip · craft · kid · perch · wake

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. craft — boats
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wake — a trail
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. clip — a video
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bear — the animal
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. craft — a skill
  21. rule — a law
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. kid — to tease

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