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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: kick · jam · field · perch · bark · clip · current · stem

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. stem — to come from
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. field — for sport
  6. current — of water
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. field — farmland
  10. bark — to shout
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. clip — for paper
  13. perch — the fish
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. current — happening now
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. current — electric
  20. clip — to cut
  21. field — a subject
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. clip — a video
  24. kick — with a leg

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