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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. file — a tool
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. net — for catching
  9. file — a document
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. net — in sport
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. net — after costs

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