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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. swing — in golf
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a document
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. file — a line of people
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. file — a tool
  24. clip — to cut

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