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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. clip — for paper
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. saw — the tool
  10. charge — in control
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spring — a coil
  13. clip — a video
  14. spring — of water
  15. bat — the animal
  16. charge — a price
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. saw — the tool
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. spring — the season
  24. charge — electricity

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