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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. clip — for paper
  3. vault — a safe
  4. kick — in football
  5. lean — to bend
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. firm — a company
  9. bark — to shout
  10. rest — a break
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. firm — steady
  15. rest — what's left
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — what's left
  19. clip — to cut
  20. firm — decided
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — thin
  24. bark — of a tree

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