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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. drill — army training
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. press — to push
  6. stem — to come from
  7. band — a ring
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cell — a phone
  11. press — a publisher
  12. rash — a series
  13. bark — to shout
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. drill — the tool
  19. cell — in biology
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. press — newspapers
  24. stem — a stem cell

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