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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. key — in music
  8. rest — a break
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. chest — a box
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rest — what's left
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stem — to come from

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