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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. march — the month
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cell — in biology
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spring — the season
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. land — to come down
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. shower — rain
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spring — of water
  16. land — a country
  17. march — music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. march — the month
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stem — to come from
  22. land — ground
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bulb — for light

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