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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. charge — a price
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. clip — to cut
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. file — a tool
  10. season — of the year
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bark — to shout
  16. charge — electricity
  17. file — a document
  18. clip — for paper
  19. charge — in control
  20. deal — to handle
  21. season — in sport
  22. pitch — completely
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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