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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. rest — a break
  3. race — humankind
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. ground — the earth
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. race — a contest
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pound — a weight
  22. stem — to come from
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ground — a position

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