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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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Word bank
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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: kick · bear · chip · clip · field · bark · bore · arm

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. bore — to tire
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. field — farmland
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. field — a subject
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bore — to drill
  19. field — for sport
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. clip — a video
  24. chip — to eat

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