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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rule — a law
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. hand — help
  8. firm — a company
  9. chest — of your body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. firm — steady
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stem — to come from
  16. spring — of water
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. firm — decided
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bark — to shout
  21. rule — government
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bat — the animal

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