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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. field — for sport
  8. rush — hurry
  9. field — a subject
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. stem — to come from
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bark — to shout
  21. rash — a series
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. rash — hasty
  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