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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mate — to breed
  3. spell — magic
  4. clip — a video
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. spell — letters
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. mate — a partner
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rest — a break
  17. spell — a short time
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. lean — thin
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rest — what's left

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