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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. last — to go on
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pop — to visit
  6. track — a path
  7. last — finally
  8. track — a song
  9. root — of a word
  10. pop — soda
  11. last — final
  12. bark — to shout
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. root — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. track — to keep track
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. pop — music
  21. root — the cause
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. shower — to wash

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