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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bark — to shout
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. field — a subject
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. hand — help
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. spell — letters
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. arm — part of the body

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