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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 · band · stem · wound · content · pass · bark · net

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. clip — a video
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. clip — to cut
  10. net — in sport
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stem — to come from
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pass — a permit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. band — a music group
  19. content — the amount
  20. bark — to shout
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. content — happy

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