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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. track — a path
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. craft — boats
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. plane — a tool
  21. craft — a skill
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. stem — to come from
  24. plane — in geometry

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