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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. prune — to trim
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. clip — to cut
  9. sharp — clever
  10. clip — a video
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. track — a path
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. board — a committee
  16. perch — the fish
  17. track — a song
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. board — to get on
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. bark — to shout
  23. clip — for paper
  24. prune — the fruit

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