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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. clip — a video
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pass — a permit
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tube — a container
  14. pit — in a race
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. clip — for paper
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. march — music
  23. tube — in a tire
  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