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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.

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: mate · bark · trunk · firm · land · clip · rule · nail

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. land — ground
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. firm — decided
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. land — to come down
  8. rule — government
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. clip — a video
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mate — a partner
  17. land — a country
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bark — to shout
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rule — a law
  24. firm — a company

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