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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wound — an injury
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rash — a series
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bark — to shout
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — moving air
  24. saw — the tool

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