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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 · tear · suit · bark · band · mug · pit · game

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. pit — a hole
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. game — a match
  8. mug — to rob
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bark — to shout
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. suit — in cards
  17. game — wild animals
  18. suit — to fit
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — a face
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. clip — to cut

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