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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. staff — a stick
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bound — obliged
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fine — high quality
  7. tear — from crying
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. fine — all right
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bound — certain
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — to go on
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. staff — employees

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