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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: clip · wind · straw · pit · wax · bark · bay · mate

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wax — to grow
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pit — a hole
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wax — in the ear

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