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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. squash — to crush
  6. march — music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. march — the month
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. cold — not warm
  23. march — the month
  24. stem — 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