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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rash — hasty
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. current — happening now
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. sharp — clever
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. mouse — the animal

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