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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. face — to point toward
  3. clip — a video
  4. rash — a series
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. present — there
  8. bark — to shout
  9. object — a thing
  10. face — to confront
  11. present — a gift
  12. clip — for paper
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. object — to protest
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. present — the time now
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. object — an aim
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rash — hasty
  24. face — part of the head

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