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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. clip — a video
  4. saw — the tool
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. clip — to cut
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bark — to shout
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. lean — thin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mouse — the animal

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