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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. degree — from a university
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. stem — to come from
  10. content — the amount
  11. bark — to shout
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. foot — a measure
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. degree — an amount
  23. content — happy
  24. degree — temperature

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