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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. key — for a lock
  4. file — a document
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. clip — a video
  8. key — the most important part
  9. file — a line of people
  10. object — a thing
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. object — to protest
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a tool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mate — to breed
  18. stand — to bear
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bark — to shout
  22. object — an aim
  23. key — in music
  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