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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. degree — an amount
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stem — to come from
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bank — for money
  9. kick — in football
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. capital — money
  19. degree — from a university
  20. capital — a city
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. saw — the tool
  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