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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. object — an aim
  3. ball — a dance
  4. clip — a video
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. snap — to click
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. object — to protest
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. clip — for paper
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. object — a thing
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ball — a great time
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bark — of a tree

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