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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 116 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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. tube — a container
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. ball — a great time
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — a video
  24. ball — a dance

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