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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. drill — army training
  3. stem — to come from
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rash — a series
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bulb — for light
  15. chair — a leader
  16. march — music
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bulb — for light
  20. march — the month
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. prune — to trim
  23. drill — a practice
  24. stem — of a plant

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