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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: bear · land · fine · clip · wake · craft · pound · arm

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pound — a weight
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. land — to come down
  9. fine — all right
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. land — a country
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. craft — boats
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fine — high quality
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — ground
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. wake — a trail
  24. arm — part of the body

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