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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 120 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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. ground — the earth
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bulb — for light
  14. ground — a position
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. clip — a video
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bulb — of a plant

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