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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. foot — a measure
  8. staff — employees
  9. fine — high quality
  10. clip — to cut
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. fine — all right
  15. firm — a company
  16. bulb — for light
  17. firm — steady
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bulb — for light
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. clip — a video
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. staff — employees
  24. firm — decided

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