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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · spring · clip · rush · bark · craft · rash · ground

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. clip — to cut
  3. craft — a skill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rash — a series
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spring — of water
  10. craft — boats
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rash — hasty
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mate — to breed
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. clip — a video
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. ground — a position
  21. mate — a partner
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. craft — a handicraft

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