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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. last — final
  3. clip — for paper
  4. craft — a skill
  5. mug — a face
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. clip — to cut
  9. last — finally
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. lie — to recline
  17. clip — a video
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. mug — to rob
  20. last — to go on
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bound — obliged
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lie — an untruth

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