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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. rest — what's left
  4. suit — to fit
  5. bore — to tire
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — a break
  10. bark — to shout
  11. suit — clothes
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rest — what's left
  14. suit — in cards
  15. charge — a price
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bore — to drill
  21. chest — a box
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. charge — in control
  24. chest — of your body

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