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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spring — the season
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spring — of water
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. staff — employees
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rush — hurry
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. fall — the season
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stem — a stem cell

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