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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. track — a path
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mine — for digging
  11. track — a song
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bark — to shout
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. stem — to come from
  19. rush — hurry
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. scale — in music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fine — high quality

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