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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — in football
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. clip — for paper
  7. firm — steady
  8. clip — a video
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. mug — a face
  12. degree — from a university
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spell — a short time
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. degree — temperature
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — magic
  22. degree — an amount
  23. firm — decided
  24. firm — a company

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