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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chip — to eat
  7. rush — hurry
  8. file — a document
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. file — a tool
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chip — for betting
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bark — to shout
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. clip — a video
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. clip — for paper
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. calf — a young animal

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