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

Word bank: race · bark · stem · rule · kick · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. race — humankind
  6. rule — government
  7. bark — to shout
  8. race — a contest
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stem — to come from
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rule — a law
  17. kick — in football
  18. bark — of a tree

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