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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 120 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: pit · wind · wound · bark · degree · snap · clip · bear

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. wind — moving air
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. pit — a hole
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bark — to shout
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bear — the animal
  22. degree — from a university
  23. snap — to click
  24. clip — a video

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