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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kick — in football
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fine — all right
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. date — the fruit
  24. tear — to rip

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