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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: can · cold · pound · cap · bark · clip · content · saw

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. clip — a video
  3. pound — a weight
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cap — a lid
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. can — a tin
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. clip — to cut
  14. can — to be able to
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. content — happy
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. clip — for paper
  23. can — a tin
  24. cold — not warm

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