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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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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 · stand · bark · cell · deal · lie · march · bank

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. lie — to recline
  3. deal — to handle
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. march — music
  9. bank — for money
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stand — to bear
  15. march — the month
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bank — for money
  22. clip — a video
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. march — the month

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