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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 120 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cue — a hint
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. charge — electricity
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cue — a signal
  12. swing — music
  13. mate — to breed
  14. clip — a video
  15. swing — to play on
  16. charge — in control
  17. charge — a price
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mate — a friend
  21. board — to get on
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. swing — in golf
  24. board — a committee

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