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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. net — in sport
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. saw — the tool
  7. press — to push
  8. net — after costs
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rest — a break
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. content — happy
  19. saw — the tool
  20. press — newspapers
  21. net — for catching
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. content — the amount

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