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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: suit · row · calf · spell · hand · bark · capital · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. suit — clothes
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bark — to shout
  9. hand — help
  10. capital — a city
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spell — letters
  15. hand — in cards
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. row — to paddle
  20. suit — in cards
  21. capital — money
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. suit — to fit
  24. capital — a big letter

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