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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 116 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mug — a face
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — to shout
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mug — a cup
  8. march — the month
  9. mug — to rob
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. march — music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. clip — a video
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. key — for a lock
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. key — in music
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. key — the most important part
  24. leaves — to go away

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