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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: firm · bark · mine · clip · arm · perch · press · band

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. firm — a company
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. press — newspapers
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. firm — decided
  11. band — a music group
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bark — to shout
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. firm — steady
  18. band — a ring
  19. clip — a video
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — to push

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