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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bark — to shout
  3. face — to point toward
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. net — in sport
  7. face — part of the head
  8. net — after costs
  9. craft — boats
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bound — obliged
  12. clip — to cut
  13. face — to confront
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bound — tied together
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. clip — a video
  18. net — for catching
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bound — certain
  24. fall — to drop

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