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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 116 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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. firm — steady
  4. bark — to shout
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. firm — decided
  7. clip — to cut
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. land — to come down
  10. clip — a video
  11. last — finally
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. last — to go on
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. suit — in cards
  17. land — ground
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. last — final
  21. suit — to fit
  22. firm — a company
  23. sharp — clever
  24. land — a country

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