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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cold — not warm
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bulb — for light
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. key — in music
  16. mine — for digging
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. key — for a lock
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. coach — a trainer

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