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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: ball · current · clip · field · fine · bark · tear · bore

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bore — to tire
  3. ball — a great time
  4. current — happening now
  5. ball — a dance
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. clip — a video
  8. current — electric
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. fine — all right
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. tear — from crying
  19. field — for sport
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. field — farmland
  22. current — of water
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — a subject

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