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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 happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. court — of law
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. land — to come down
  11. chest — a box
  12. stem — to come from
  13. land — ground
  14. court — for sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — a match
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. court — of a king
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bark — to shout
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. land — a country

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