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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. march — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. root — of a plant
  10. march — the month
  11. rash — a series
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cell — in biology
  16. season — of the year
  17. root — the cause
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. march — the month
  24. root — of a word

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