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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. object — to protest
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. clip — a video
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. object — a thing
  16. dip — to sink
  17. clip — for paper
  18. prune — to trim
  19. object — an aim
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bark — to shout
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. patient — a sick person

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