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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.

Make a worksheet

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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. dip — to sink
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. scale — size or range
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — to cut
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spring — a coil
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. spring — the season
  20. clip — a video
  21. bark — to shout
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bark — of a tree

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