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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bound — tied together
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. shower — to wash
  9. content — happy
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bark — to shout
  16. content — the amount
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. clip — for paper
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. clip — a video
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. shower — rain
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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