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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pop — to visit
  4. present — there
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stem — to come from
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. kick — in football
  11. present — a gift
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cue — a hint
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cue — a signal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pop — soda
  19. present — the time now
  20. pop — music
  21. cue — for pool
  22. game — a match
  23. bark — to shout
  24. stem — of a plant

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