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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. rush — hurry
  4. scale — size or range
  5. dip — to sink
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pass — a permit
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. chest — a box
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. scale — in music
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bark — of a tree

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