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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. last — final
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. last — to go on
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bound — obliged
  13. rush — hurry
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bound — certain
  18. last — finally
  19. current — of water
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pitch — completely
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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