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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — for paper
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. hand — help
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bass — low music
  15. clip — a video
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. hand — in cards
  22. deal — to handle
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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