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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.

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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: jam · cap · fine · prune · wind · field · bark · clip

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — a subject
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cap — a lid
  7. field — for sport
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bark — to shout
  10. field — farmland
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cap — a hat
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. clip — a video
  17. cap — of ice
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. prune — to trim
  20. clip — to cut
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — high quality

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