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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. file — a document
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cue — a hint
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. clip — to cut
  8. craft — a skill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bark — to shout
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. clip — a video
  19. cue — for pool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. craft — boats
  22. rest — a break
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — for paper

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