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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. spell — magic
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chest — a box
  13. bass — low music
  14. spell — a short time
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bark — to shout
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spell — letters
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bass — the fish
  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