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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kick — in football
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bark — to shout
  13. squash — the sport
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. content — the amount
  19. clip — a video
  20. content — happy
  21. squash — to crush
  22. fall — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bark — of a tree

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