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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stem — to come from
  6. land — to come down
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. stand — to bear
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. drill — army training
  15. land — a country
  16. bark — to shout
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. race — a contest
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. race — humankind
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. land — ground

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