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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pass — a permit
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rest — a break
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. land — a country
  13. court — of a king
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bark — to shout
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. land — to come down
  18. court — for sport
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. land — ground
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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