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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bore — to tire
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. chest — a box
  24. fan — a supporter

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