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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bank — of a river
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bank — for money
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cap — a hat
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bark — to shout
  24. stem — to come from

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