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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 116 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rest — what's left
  3. land — to come down
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spell — a short time
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — letters
  9. bark — to shout
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. land — ground
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. shower — to wash
  18. land — a country
  19. rest — a break
  20. spell — magic
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. clip — a video
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. clip — for paper

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