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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 was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. clip — to cut
  4. season — of the year
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. fine — high quality
  8. clip — for paper
  9. field — for sport
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. clip — a video
  19. field — farmland
  20. stand — to bear
  21. field — a subject
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fine — all right
  24. stand — on your feet

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