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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. file — a document
  4. present — there
  5. shower — to wash
  6. file — a tool
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. present — a gift
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a line of people
  13. shower — rain
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. firm — decided
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. firm — a company
  21. mark — a trace
  22. toast — bread
  23. firm — steady
  24. present — the time now

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