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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: leaves · wake · ruler · wind · key · field · bark · clip

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wake — a trail
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. clip — to cut
  6. field — a subject
  7. key — in music
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — for paper
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. key — for a lock
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. field — for sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. clip — a video

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