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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rush — hurry
  6. board — a committee
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. game — wild animals
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — to bend
  11. game — a match
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. chip — to eat
  18. clip — a video
  19. lean — thin
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bark — to shout
  22. clip — to cut
  23. board — to get on
  24. pound — a weight

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