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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tube — the underground
  4. roll — a list
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cap — a lid
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. roll — a cake
  13. tube — a container
  14. hand — help
  15. cap — a hat
  16. mine — for digging
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cap — of ice
  24. roll — on a roll

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