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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cell — in biology
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. roll — a list
  6. shower — to wash
  7. suit — in cards
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. suit — clothes
  18. clip — to cut
  19. roll — a cake
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — a video
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — for paper
  24. suit — to fit

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