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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. land — ground
  3. clip — a video
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bore — to drill
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. land — a country
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. clip — to cut
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. stem — to come from
  15. field — farmland
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. field — a subject
  18. land — to come down
  19. field — for sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bore — to tire
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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