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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — to protest
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. hand — help
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mine — for digging
  11. can — to be able to
  12. rock — music
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. object — an aim
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bat — the animal
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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