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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 120 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. field — farmland
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bark — to shout
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pit — a hole
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. ground — crushed
  14. field — for sport
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. saw — the tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. field — a subject
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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