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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bark — to shout
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. row — a line
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. row — to paddle
  10. suit — in cards
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tube — the underground
  14. suit — to fit
  15. tube — a container
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — a video
  18. swing — music
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — to get on
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wound — an injury
  23. swing — in golf
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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