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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: fan · clip · stick · pit · roll · wind · last · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. last — final
  3. clip — a video
  4. pit — in a race
  5. last — to go on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. last — finally
  18. roll — a cake
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. roll — a list

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