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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. rest — what's left
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kick — in football
  8. tear — from crying
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cap — a lid
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. tear — to rip
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. clip — a video
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. perch — the fish
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cap — a hat
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bark — to shout
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kick — with a leg

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