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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — a friend
  4. clip — for paper
  5. scale — in music
  6. mate — a partner
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bark — to shout
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. pound — a weight
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. clip — a video
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mate — to breed
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. scale — size or range

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