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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 retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — a grade
  5. key — for a lock
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cold — not warm
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bark — to shout
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cold — an illness
  16. clip — to cut
  17. key — the most important part
  18. season — of the year
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. key — in music
  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