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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bark — to shout
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. stem — to come from
  8. spell — letters
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. degree — an amount
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. spring — the season
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spell — a short time
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. spell — magic
  21. spring — of water
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. degree — temperature

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