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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bark — to shout
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cold — not warm
  11. board — a committee
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. board — to get on
  15. cue — a hint
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cue — a signal
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. kid — child
  20. clip — a video
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. deal — to handle
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. bark — 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