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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kid — child
  4. ground — a position
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. ground — crushed
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. clip — a video
  13. kid — to tease
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. lie — an untruth

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