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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. charge — a price
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rock — music
  5. object — a thing
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mate — a partner
  8. charge — in control
  9. charge — electricity
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cold — an illness
  14. object — to protest
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. clip — a video
  21. object — an aim
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mate — a friend

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