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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rest · hand · fork · pitcher · clip · wound · craft · bark

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hand — in cards
  4. clip — a video
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hand — help
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. craft — a skill
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rest — a break
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. fork — in a road
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — for paper

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