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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · wind · bark · press · jam · capital · mate · toast

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mate — to breed
  4. capital — money
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. press — a publisher
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. mate — a friend
  10. press — to push
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. bark — to shout
  13. clip — for paper
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mate — a partner
  19. capital — a city
  20. toast — bread
  21. press — newspapers
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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