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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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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 · date · wind · wax · bark · drill · tear · firm

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. date — the fruit
  3. tear — to rip
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. drill — army training
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — steady
  11. clip — to cut
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. drill — the tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. firm — decided
  18. drill — a practice
  19. clip — a video
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. tear — from crying

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