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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spring — a coil
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. degree — temperature
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — an amount
  11. kid — to tease
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. net — for catching
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. degree — from a university
  19. spring — the season
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spring — of water
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stem — a stem cell

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