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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. track — a path
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. track — a song
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bass — low music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. track — to keep track
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bass — the fish
  21. clip — a video
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. can — a tin
  24. bark — to shout

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