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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. clip — a video
  7. firm — decided
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. firm — a company
  20. firm — steady
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mine — for digging
  23. clip — to cut
  24. deal — an agreement

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