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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. staff — employees
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. tube — the underground
  5. stem — to come from
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. staff — employees
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. kid — child
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. staff — a stick
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stem — a stem cell

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