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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — to cut
  5. hand — in cards
  6. craft — boats
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. clip — a video
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. can — a tin
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. can — a tin
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. foot — a measure
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. hand — help
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — for paper

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