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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. stem — to come from
  3. file — a document
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. march — music
  6. can — a tin
  7. race — a contest
  8. file — a line of people
  9. march — the month
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. can — to be able to
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — a video
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. file — a tool

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