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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bark — to shout
  3. clip — a video
  4. scale — in music
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. game — wild animals
  7. face — to point toward
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. game — a match
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — bread
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. face — to confront
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. scale — size or range
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. toast — the most admired

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