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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: bark · charge · fork · tear · spell · calf · pitcher · clip

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — a video
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. spell — magic
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fork — in a road
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. charge — electricity
  11. spell — letters
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. charge — a price
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bark — to shout
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. tear — to rip
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. charge — in control

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