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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 120 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. net — after costs
  4. pit — a hole
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. net — for catching
  10. fork — in a road
  11. shower — rain
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. net — in sport
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bark — to shout
  24. clip — for paper

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