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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: snap · chair · spell · tear · clip · bark · present · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bark — to shout
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. clip — for paper
  5. snap — to click
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. present — the time now
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. present — there
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — a video
  16. spell — magic
  17. chair — a leader
  18. tear — to rip
  19. present — a gift
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. spell — a short time
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. spell — letters

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