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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. branch — a division
  4. court — for sport
  5. track — a song
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. march — music
  8. track — a path
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bark — to shout
  12. court — of a king
  13. stand — to bear
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. march — the month
  17. rule — a law
  18. court — of law
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. clip — to cut
  21. track — to keep track
  22. rule — government
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — the month

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