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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mark — a grade
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — a video
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bark — to shout
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spring — a coil
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mark — a trace
  18. spring — of water

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