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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. tube — a container
  5. staff — a stick
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. clip — a video
  8. pound — a weight
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. clip — for paper
  15. tube — the underground
  16. staff — employees
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bark — to shout
  22. degree — temperature
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bark — of a tree

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