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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. field — a subject
  6. land — a country
  7. firm — steady
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. chest — a box
  11. bank — for money
  12. land — ground
  13. chest — of your body
  14. firm — a company
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mate — a partner
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bank — for money
  20. land — to come down
  21. firm — decided
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bank — of a river

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