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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: bear · mug · craft · rest · clip · mine · bark · bat

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. craft — a skill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mug — a face
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. craft — boats
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — a video
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. mug — to rob
  24. rest — a break

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