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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: wound · track · clip · press · board · bark · chip · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chip — to eat
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wound — an injury
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. board — a committee
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. press — a publisher
  16. clip — a video
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bark — to shout
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. press — to push
  22. board — to get on
  23. track — a path
  24. chip — in a computer

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