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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. clip — a video
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mate — a friend
  9. clip — to cut
  10. capital — money
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. current — of water
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. current — electric
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. dip — to sink
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. capital — a city
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mate — a partner
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. current — happening now

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