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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. degree — an amount
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bulb — for light
  8. degree — temperature
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bulb — for light
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. stem — a stem cell

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