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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bark — to shout
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. mine — for digging
  8. net — for catching
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pit — in a race
  12. net — after costs
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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