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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. season — of the year
  4. present — the time now
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. land — a country
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. clip — a video
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. clip — for paper
  17. present — there
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bark — to shout
  23. present — a gift
  24. stem — of a plant

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