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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. court — of law
  4. mine — for digging
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bark — to shout
  7. court — of a king
  8. firm — decided
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — for sport
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — steady
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. clip — to cut
  21. net — after costs
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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