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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. stand — to bear
  3. net — for catching
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. net — in sport
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bark — to shout
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. net — after costs
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wake — a trail
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the sport

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