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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. spring — a coil
  3. file — a line of people
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. squash — the sport
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. bark — to shout
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. clip — a video
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. toast — bread
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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