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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. land — a country
  3. mate — a friend
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — from crying
  8. land — to come down
  9. scale — in music
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bass — low music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — in biology
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. stem — to come from
  21. land — ground
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bass — the fish

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