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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bark — to shout
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wax — to grow
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. present — there
  17. perch — the fish
  18. branch — a division
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. spring — of water
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. spring — the season

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