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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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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: bat · clip · pitcher · bark · present · fine · bound · wake

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fine — all right
  13. clip — a video
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. present — the time now
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bound — certain
  20. clip — for paper
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — there
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bat — in an idiom

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