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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. scale — size or range
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fine — all right
  5. clip — a video
  6. track — a song
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mine — for digging
  14. fine — high quality
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. firm — steady
  18. track — a path
  19. firm — a company
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. clip — for paper
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — of a tree

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