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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mate — a friend
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. spell — letters
  12. pound — a weight
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. spell — magic
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mate — to breed
  23. spell — a short time
  24. clip — a video

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