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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. band — a ring
  3. clip — a video
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. clip — for paper
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bulb — for light
  13. ball — a great time
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. band — a music group
  19. clip — to cut
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. bark — to shout
  22. ball — a dance
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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