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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. press — a publisher
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. press — to push
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. perch — the fish
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cold — not warm
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bark — to shout

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