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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. clip — a video
  3. field — farmland
  4. object — a thing
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chip — for betting
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. hand — in cards
  12. object — to protest
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bark — to shout
  18. chip — to eat
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. object — an aim
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. hand — part of the body

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