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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. drill — army training
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chest — a box
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cue — a hint
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cue — for pool
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. drill — the tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fine — all right
  19. bark — to shout
  20. clip — a video
  21. cue — a signal
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stand — to bear

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