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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pit — in a race
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. current — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. clip — a video
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pass — a permit
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bark — to shout
  17. season — of the year
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. current — happening now
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. bear — the animal

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