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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bound — certain
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bound — obliged
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. clip — a video
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rush — hurry
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bound — tied together
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. coach — a trainer

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