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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: season · branch · fall · bay · bark · rule · clip · spell

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rule — a law
  9. clip — a video
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. clip — to cut
  12. branch — a division
  13. bark — to shout
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. fall — the season
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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