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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. spell — a short time
  5. tear — from crying
  6. race — a contest
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pop — music
  11. mate — a partner
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pop — to visit
  14. race — humankind
  15. season — of the year
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — in sport
  19. spell — magic
  20. stem — to come from
  21. spell — letters
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pop — soda
  24. mate — to breed

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