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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. firm — a company
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mine — for digging
  10. clip — to cut
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bark — to shout
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. firm — decided
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. clip — a video
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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