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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. last — finally
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. kick — in football
  9. kid — child
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. spell — a short time
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. spell — letters
  17. last — final
  18. bark — to shout
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. degree — temperature
  22. kid — to tease
  23. last — to go on
  24. stem — to come from

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