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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bark — to shout
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. clip — a video
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. clip — to cut
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bass — low music

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