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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. row — to paddle
  6. spring — the season
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mark — a grade
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pop — music
  17. spring — of water
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. row — a line
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pop — soda
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. spring — a coil

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