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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. season — of the year
  9. chip — to eat
  10. present — the time now
  11. mine — for digging
  12. present — a gift
  13. season — in sport
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rock — a stone
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — a video
  19. chip — for betting
  20. race — a contest
  21. present — there
  22. race — humankind
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. clip — for paper

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