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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pop — music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. clip — to cut
  5. ball — a great time
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ball — a dance
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. pop — soda
  15. drill — a practice
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — a video
  18. land — to come down
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pop — to visit
  22. drill — army training
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bark — to shout

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