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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 · bark · board · straw · rule · press · field · pass

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. rule — government
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pass — a permit
  7. board — a committee
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. field — farmland
  11. press — to push
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. field — a subject
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. board — to get on
  22. field — for sport
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rule — a law

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