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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wake — a trail
  7. band — a music group
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. cap — of ice
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cold — an illness
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wake — before a funeral

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