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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 120 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bark — to shout
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. spell — magic
  10. clip — a video
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. clip — for paper
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. drill — a practice
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. drill — the tool
  18. spell — a short time
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. spell — letters
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fan — a supporter

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