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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: stick · clip · sharp · track · bat · calf · press · bark

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. press — a publisher
  2. bat — the animal
  3. track — to keep track
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. track — a path
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bark — to shout
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. clip — to cut
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. sharp — clever
  21. track — a song
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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