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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · pop · charge · plane · track · hand · bear · bark

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bear — the animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. hand — help
  7. plane — a tool
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pop — music
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. charge — in control
  13. charge — a price
  14. track — a song
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. pop — soda
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. track — a path
  22. charge — electricity
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. plane — an aircraft

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