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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. staff — employees
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bore — to tire
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. staff — a stick
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bass — low music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. staff — employees
  24. bark — to shout

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