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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cue — a hint
  3. object — to protest
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cue — a signal
  7. track — a path
  8. clip — for paper
  9. object — a thing
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. clip — a video
  12. track — a song
  13. game — a match
  14. object — an aim
  15. game — wild animals
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bark — to shout
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cold — not warm

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