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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · spring · pop · fine · bowl · tear · stem · bark

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pop — soda
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bark — to shout
  5. tear — from crying
  6. clip — a video
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pop — music
  15. spring — the season
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stem — to come from
  21. spring — of water
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pop — to visit

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