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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rest — what's left
  4. kid — child
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kid — to tease
  11. spell — letters
  12. rest — a break
  13. spell — magic
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spell — a short time
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. chest — a box
  23. stem — to come from
  24. band — a rubber band

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