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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. snap — to click
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. clip — for paper
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. track — to keep track
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. branch — a division
  19. clip — to cut
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. track — a path
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — a video
  24. bark — to shout

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