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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bark — to shout
  3. track — a path
  4. stem — to come from
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. rule — government
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. march — the month
  18. rule — a law
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wax — to grow

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