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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · mate · bat · mug · clip · bark · plane · suit

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mate — a partner
  3. suit — clothes
  4. suit — in cards
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mate — a friend
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. suit — to fit
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a cup
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kick — in football
  19. mug — a face
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mate — to breed

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