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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. foot — a measure
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. clip — to cut
  7. sharp — clever
  8. clip — a video
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bear — the animal
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. band — a music group
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. season — of the year
  18. row — a line
  19. season — in sport
  20. row — to paddle
  21. band — a ring
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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