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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: stick · tear · clip · craft · bark · cell · bore · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cell — in biology
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cell — a phone
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. clip — a video
  16. craft — boats
  17. tear — from crying
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bore — to drill
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bore — gave birth
  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