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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. clip — to cut
  4. club — a group
  5. fine — high quality
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. drill — a practice
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. spell — magic
  14. fine — all right
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. club — for dancing
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. bark — to shout
  20. club — for golf
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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