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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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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: file · degree · bear · mark · clip · temple · pit · bark

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. file — a tool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bear — the animal
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bear — the animal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pit — in a race
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. mark — a grade
  19. degree — temperature
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mark — a trace
  24. file — a document

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