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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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. lean — thin
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. file — a document
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rush — hurry
  10. object — to protest
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. object — an aim
  15. lean — to bend
  16. file — a line of people
  17. object — a thing
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. file — a tool
  23. capital — money
  24. rush — to hurry

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