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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. suit — clothes
  3. suit — in cards
  4. file — a line of people
  5. clip — a video
  6. band — a music group
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. bark — to shout
  11. band — a ring
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. suit — to fit
  16. bound — obliged
  17. clip — for paper
  18. file — a tool
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. file — a document
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. band — a rubber band

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