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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. clip — a video
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chair — a leader
  9. object — an aim
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. present — the time now
  17. clip — to cut
  18. present — there
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. bark — to shout
  24. calf — a young animal

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