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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kick — in football
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mate — a friend
  8. clip — a video
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. tear — from crying
  15. drill — army training
  16. mate — to breed
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wound — an injury
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bark — to shout
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mate — a partner

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