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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 116 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. spring — the season
  3. cell — in biology
  4. board — to get on
  5. shower — rain
  6. stem — to come from
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cell — a phone
  9. object — to protest
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. perch — the fish
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. spring — of water
  16. object — a thing
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — a committee
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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