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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cap — a lid
  7. clip — to cut
  8. squash — to crush
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wind — moving air
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — of ice
  15. lie — to recline
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bark — to shout
  22. squash — the sport
  23. clip — a video
  24. lie — an untruth

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