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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. clip — a video
  3. net — after costs
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. net — in sport
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bore — to tire
  15. clip — for paper
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. spring — of water
  19. bore — to drill
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. net — for catching
  23. court — for sport
  24. bore — gave birth

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