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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: clip · bark · firm · temple · band · wound · row · content

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. content — happy
  3. row — a line
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. wound — an injury
  6. content — the amount
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. firm — decided
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. clip — a video
  12. firm — a company
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wound — an injury
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. band — a ring
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. clip — for paper
  20. firm — steady
  21. clip — to cut
  22. band — a music group
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. temple — a place of worship

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