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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · bark · tear · kick · stem · bear

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. present — there
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. present — the time now
  12. kick — in football
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bear — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying

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