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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. board — to get on
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. board — a committee
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. stock — shares
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. stem — to come from
  22. last — to go on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. stock — goods

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