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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 116 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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. drill — the tool
  14. stem — to come from
  15. craft — boats
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mark — a grade
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spell — magic
  21. drill — army training
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. craft — a skill
  24. clip — a video

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