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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 120 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: clip · kid · march · wave · sharp · lie · object · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — a video
  6. object — a thing
  7. kid — child
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. object — an aim
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. march — the month
  18. kid — to tease
  19. clip — to cut
  20. march — music
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. lie — to recline
  23. object — to protest
  24. lie — an untruth

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