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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fall — the season
  6. stock — goods
  7. root — of a word
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bark — to shout
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stock — shares
  15. season — in sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. date — the fruit
  18. clip — a video
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. root — the cause
  21. season — of the year
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bark — of a tree

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