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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. drill — army training
  3. clip — to cut
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bear — the animal
  16. present — there
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. clip — a video
  20. fine — all right
  21. fall — the season
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bear — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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