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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. land — a country
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kid — child
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pitch — completely
  14. land — ground
  15. pop — music
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bark — to shout
  24. land — to come down

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