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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 124 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. content — happy
  3. pound — a weight
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. key — in music
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. clip — a video
  14. bark — to shout
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. key — the most important part
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. key — for a lock
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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