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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 116 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: leaves · hand · bore · lean · bark · firm · field · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. field — a subject
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. hand — in cards
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bore — to drill
  7. lean — thin
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. firm — steady
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. lean — to bend
  16. field — farmland
  17. bore — to tire
  18. clip — for paper
  19. firm — decided
  20. hand — help
  21. bark — to shout
  22. clip — to cut
  23. field — for sport
  24. firm — a company

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