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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 116 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. face — part of the head
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. face — to confront
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bark — to shout
  10. rule — government
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mine — for digging
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. snap — to click
  18. stem — to come from
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. clip — a video
  22. rule — a law
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. mouse — the animal

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