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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. can — a tin
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stem — to come from
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. can — a tin
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. can — to be able to
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. rule — government
  20. pit — in a race
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pop — music

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