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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: bark · root · bank · arm · mine · clip · drill · field

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. field — farmland
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. field — a subject
  11. clip — a video
  12. field — for sport
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. root — of a word
  15. clip — to cut
  16. root — the cause
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bank — for money
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. mine — for digging
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. root — of a plant
  24. clip — for paper

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