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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. kid — child
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. kid — to tease
  6. ground — the earth
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cap — of ice
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ground — a position
  16. season — of the year
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. clip — to cut
  21. face — to confront
  22. ground — crushed
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cap — a hat

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