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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. court — for sport
  4. object — to protest
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. clip — to cut
  7. object — a thing
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — a video
  10. wind — moving air
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — of a king
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bark — to shout
  19. object — an aim
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. court — of law
  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