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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tube — a container
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tube — the underground
  9. shower — rain
  10. clip — a video
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. ground — a position
  15. lie — to recline
  16. chair — a leader
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bark — to shout
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. ground — the earth

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