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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bark — to shout
  5. track — to keep track
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. clip — a video
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. saw — the tool
  12. track — a song
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. track — a path
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. snap — to click
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. branch — a division
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. pound — a weight
  24. date — the fruit

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