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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 120 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. lean — to bend
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. wind — moving air
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cue — for pool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lean — thin
  12. hand — help
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. cue — a signal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. scale — size or range
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cue — a hint
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wind — to turn a key

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