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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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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. clip — a video
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rash — a series
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bark — to shout
  16. field — a subject
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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