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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. spring — of water
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. dip — to sink
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. firm — steady
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. spring — the season
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bark — to shout
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. firm — a company
  24. spring — a coil

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