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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bank — for money
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rule — a law
  10. clip — a video
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rule — government
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bank — of a river
  16. game — a match
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chest — a box
  19. bank — for money
  20. chest — of your body
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lean — thin
  24. hand — help

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