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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 · pop · bark · mug · hide · file · object · field

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pop — to visit
  4. mug — to rob
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — farmland
  7. object — a thing
  8. file — a document
  9. pop — soda
  10. mug — a face
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. field — for sport
  13. pop — music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mug — a cup
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. clip — a video
  21. object — an aim
  22. field — a subject
  23. file — a tool
  24. hide — animal skin

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