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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mate — a partner
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. row — to paddle
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. stem — to come from
  24. row — a line

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