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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. lean — to bend
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cap — a lid
  7. clip — a video
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mine — for digging
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lean — thin
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bark — to shout
  16. root — of a plant
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — to breed
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. root — of a word
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. root — the cause
  24. mate — a friend

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