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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. file — a tool
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. fall — the season
  9. file — a document
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. toast — bread
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — a video
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. clip — for paper
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bark — to shout
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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