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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chest — a box
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pass — a permit
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. saw — the tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bark — to shout
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. kick — in football
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. stem — a stem cell

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