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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 116 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bulb — for light
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. capital — money
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bat — the animal
  21. capital — a city
  22. rest — a break
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rest — what's left

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