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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. staff — a stick
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pitch — completely
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stem — to come from
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. staff — employees
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rash — a series
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. staff — employees

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