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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cue — a hint
  4. clip — a video
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cue — a signal
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. rule — a law
  12. face — to point toward
  13. clip — for paper
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. face — to confront
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. rule — government
  23. cue — for pool
  24. field — farmland

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