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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. rule — government
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pass — a permit
  9. bound — certain
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. branch — a division
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. clip — a video
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rule — a law
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — tied together
  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