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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.

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: bowl · bark · suit · clip · cold · can · cell · rush

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. can — to be able to
  3. clip — to cut
  4. can — a tin
  5. suit — clothes
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — a video
  11. can — a tin
  12. suit — to fit
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. suit — in cards
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a dish

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