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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. saw — the tool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. clip — a video
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. sharp — clever
  15. saw — the tool
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. clip — to cut
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. degree — from a university

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