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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. mate — a partner
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. mate — a friend
  8. file — a document
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stem — to come from
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wind — moving air
  15. scale — in music
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. file — a tool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. court — for sport

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