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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bark — to shout
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. clip — for paper
  13. staff — employees
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. clip — a video
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. scale — in music
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. kid — child
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. scale — size or range

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