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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. net — after costs
  8. clip — a video
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fine — all right
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. net — for catching
  20. fine — high quality
  21. branch — a division
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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