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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: clip · bark · bulb · stand · press · wind · saw · temple

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. press — a publisher
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. saw — the tool
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. clip — a video
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stand — to bear
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bulb — for light
  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