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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fine — high quality
  5. game — wild animals
  6. dip — to sink
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a match
  9. club — a group
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. club — for golf
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — all right
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. clip — a video
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. dip — to dunk

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