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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. roll — a cake
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spring — a coil
  7. hand — help
  8. chip — for betting
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. roll — a list
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — a video
  20. chip — to eat
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bark — to shout

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