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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. clip — to cut
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. saw — the tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. hand — help
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cap — a hat
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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