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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. shower — rain
  6. rush — hurry
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. band — a music group
  10. spring — of water
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bark — to shout
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stem — to come from
  18. band — a ring
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. spring — the season
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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