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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. race — humankind
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rock — music
  6. swing — music
  7. fall — the season
  8. rock — a stone
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — child
  12. race — a contest
  13. bark — to shout
  14. kid — to tease
  15. race — the arms race
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. march — the month
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. swing — in golf
  23. march — music
  24. swing — to play on

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