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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ground — crushed
  4. clip — a video
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. branch — a division
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. current — electric
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. clip — for paper
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rash — a series
  16. current — of water
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ground — a position
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. current — happening now
  24. branch — of a bank

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