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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. object — a thing
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kid — child
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. object — an aim
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. capital — a city
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. kid — to tease
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. object — to protest
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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