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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — a weight
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. lie — to recline
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cap — a hat
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stem — to come from
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bark — to shout

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