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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. board — to get on
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. clip — to cut
  10. spell — a short time
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bark — to shout
  13. board — a committee
  14. lean — thin
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. clip — a video
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. clip — for paper
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cold — not warm

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