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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 116 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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. vault — a safe
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wind — moving air
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. cap — a lid
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cap — a hat
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. key — in music
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. key — for a lock
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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