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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. swing — music
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bear — the animal
  5. object — to protest
  6. clip — to cut
  7. object — an aim
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pound — a weight
  10. clip — for paper
  11. object — a thing
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bear — the animal
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. clip — a video
  23. ground — a position
  24. nail — for a hammer

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