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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bound — tied together
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kid — child
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bound — certain
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. last — finally
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. bass — the fish
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bass — low music
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. kid — to tease
  22. clip — a video
  23. bark — to shout
  24. toast — the most admired

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