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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cue — for pool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. band — a music group
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. saw — the tool
  16. snap — to click
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stem — to come from
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a ring
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. chest — a box
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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