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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: row · charge · bark · fan · net · chest · clip · fall

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. charge — electricity
  8. chest — a box
  9. net — after costs
  10. chest — of your body
  11. charge — in control
  12. fall — the season
  13. clip — to cut
  14. net — for catching
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. net — in sport
  19. row — a line
  20. chest — of your body
  21. charge — a price
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. row — to paddle
  24. clip — for paper

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