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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bark — to shout
  13. shower — rain
  14. bore — to tire
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. chip — to eat
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chip — for betting
  21. fine — all right
  22. bore — to drill
  23. deal — to handle
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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