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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. field — farmland
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. tube — a container
  18. field — for sport
  19. board — to get on
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — for paper
  22. board — a committee
  23. field — a subject
  24. tube — the underground

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