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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: spell · hand · bark · bear · stand · clip · bat · bulb

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bulb — for light
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spell — magic
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bulb — for light
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spell — letters
  22. clip — a video
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. hand — in cards

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