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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. file — a tool
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bark — to shout
  7. stem — to come from
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — a hat
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. file — a document
  14. mate — a partner
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. chest — a box
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cap — of ice
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. cap — a lid
  24. trunk — of a car

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