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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. land — to come down
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — a country
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. land — ground
  11. bark — to shout
  12. row — to paddle
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. prune — to trim
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. ball — a dance
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. row — a line
  24. game — a match

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