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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.

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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: craft · content · bark · mate · clip · club · present · bear

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. clip — a video
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. present — there
  5. content — happy
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. club — for golf
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bear — the animal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bark — to shout
  13. present — a gift
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. craft — a skill
  17. club — for dancing
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mate — a friend
  21. content — the amount
  22. club — a group
  23. craft — boats
  24. bear — the animal

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