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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 124 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. stock — shares
  10. wake — a trail
  11. court — of a king
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pound — a weight
  14. clip — a video
  15. stock — goods
  16. court — for sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. court — of law
  21. snap — to click
  22. kick — in football
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. kick — a thrill

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