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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: key · march · file · bear · pound · bark · craft · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a line of people
  5. clip — a video
  6. key — the most important part
  7. file — a document
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. march — the month
  14. craft — boats
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. key — in music
  21. file — a tool
  22. bear — the animal
  23. key — for a lock
  24. pound — for dogs

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