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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.

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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: clip · plane · mate · press · bat · bark · rule · field

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. clip — for paper
  3. press — to push
  4. clip — to cut
  5. press — newspapers
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bark — to shout
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. field — for sport
  18. press — a publisher
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. clip — a video
  23. field — farmland
  24. bark — of a tree

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