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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — a grade
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mark — a trace
  7. season — in sport
  8. key — for a lock
  9. clip — to cut
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. key — the most important part
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. key — in music
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — to come down
  16. mug — a face
  17. land — ground
  18. bark — to shout
  19. mug — a cup
  20. season — of the year
  21. mug — to rob
  22. land — a country
  23. snap — to click
  24. season — to add flavour

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