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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cell — in biology
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cell — a phone
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. band — a music group
  13. firm — steady
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bark — to shout
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. firm — decided
  19. clip — for paper
  20. firm — a company
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  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