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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. board — to get on
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mug — a face
  5. bark — to shout
  6. shower — rain
  7. mug — a cup
  8. court — for sport
  9. march — music
  10. drill — the tool
  11. court — of law
  12. drill — a practice
  13. board — a committee
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. march — the month
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. march — the month
  22. mug — to rob
  23. drill — army training
  24. court — of a king

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