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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. land — ground
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — soda
  10. land — a country
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. clip — to cut
  19. capital — a city
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. capital — money
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pop — to visit
  24. mine — for digging

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