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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pound — a weight
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pop — to visit
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pop — music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. clip — a video
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pop — soda
  19. clip — for paper
  20. staff — employees
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rush — 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