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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. root — of a plant
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. season — of the year
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. face — to point toward
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. face — to confront
  17. clip — to cut
  18. degree — an amount
  19. face — part of the head
  20. season — in sport
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stem — to come from
  23. root — the cause
  24. degree — temperature

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