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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bark — to shout
  4. lean — to bend
  5. ball — a great time
  6. staff — a stick
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. staff — employees
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. last — final
  14. staff — employees
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — to cut

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