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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mark — a grade
  4. season — of the year
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rush — hurry
  10. clip — to cut
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. clip — a video
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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