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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: bark · face · tube · clip · nail · cell · fan · net

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. net — after costs
  5. bark — to shout
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tube — the underground
  19. face — to confront
  20. net — in sport
  21. face — to point toward
  22. net — for catching
  23. cell — in biology
  24. nail — on a finger

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