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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: wound · face · wake · clip · bark · bear · pass · shower

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pass — a permit
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bark — to shout
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. wake — a trail
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. clip — a video
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. face — to confront
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. shower — rain

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