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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. clip — a video
  8. mark — a grade
  9. rock — music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bass — low music
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cell — in biology
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bass — the fish

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