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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — ground
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. kid — to tease
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stem — to come from
  12. kid — child
  13. drill — army training
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. drill — the tool
  16. net — after costs
  17. land — a country
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. prune — to trim
  21. land — to come down
  22. net — in sport
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. net — for catching

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