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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lie — to recline
  5. fine — high quality
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cue — for pool
  11. chest — a box
  12. clip — a video
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bark — to shout
  16. clip — to cut
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cue — a hint
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cue — a signal
  23. sharp — exactly
  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