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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — crushed
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kid — child
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rock — music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. clip — a video
  20. kid — to tease
  21. sharp — clever
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. ground — a position

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