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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. craft — boats
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wax — to grow
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. stem — to come from
  20. row — a line
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. row — to paddle

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