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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bore — to tire
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mate — to breed
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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