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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: craft · bark · press · clip · present · can · chip · fall

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. clip — to cut
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. press — a publisher
  6. craft — boats
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — a video
  9. fall — the season
  10. can — to be able to
  11. present — the time now
  12. craft — a skill
  13. chip — to eat
  14. fall — to drop
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chip — for betting
  17. can — a tin
  18. bark — to shout
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. present — there
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. press — to push

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