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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bank — for money
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. mug — to rob
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. last — final
  9. hand — help
  10. clip — to cut
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. deal — to handle
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. mug — a cup
  19. clip — a video
  20. last — to go on
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. mug — a face
  24. last — finally

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