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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. net — after costs
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. kid — child
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. net — in sport
  10. fork — in a road
  11. stem — to come from
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bark — to shout
  14. net — for catching
  15. can — a tin
  16. kid — to tease
  17. can — to be able to
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. can — a tin

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