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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 · stock · dip · bark · rule · press · track · saw

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. clip — for paper
  4. track — to keep track
  5. clip — to cut
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rule — government
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. dip — to sink
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. bark — to shout
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. saw — the tool
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. clip — a video
  24. stock — shares

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