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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stem — to come from
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bark — to shout
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. file — a tool
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. file — a document
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. lean — thin
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. file — a line of people
  23. lean — to bend
  24. temple — a place of worship

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