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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · hide · suit · cell · bark · clip

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cell — a phone
  4. march — music
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cell — in biology
  8. suit — to fit
  9. clip — a video
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. clip — to cut
  13. march — the month
  14. clip — for paper
  15. suit — in cards
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. march — the month

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