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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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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: mate · ruler · bark · clip · squash · fork · cold · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. bark — to shout
  13. squash — to crush
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — a video
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mate — a partner
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cold — an illness
  24. squash — the sport

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