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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. game — a match
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. clip — a video
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. game — wild animals
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bark — to shout
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. lie — to recline
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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