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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: lean · march · mine · clip · trunk · can · bark · tear

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. march — music
  7. clip — to cut
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. march — the month
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. can — a tin
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lean — thin
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. clip — a video
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. can — to be able to

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