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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — child
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bound — obliged
  10. land — to come down
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. snap — to click
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. land — ground
  20. bound — tied together
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bound — certain
  24. land — a country

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