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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. dip — to sink
  5. tube — the underground
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cell — in biology
  14. tube — a container
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stem — to come from
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. band — a ring
  21. bark — to shout
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cell — a phone

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