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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 120 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: snap · bark · rule · stem · chest · patient

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. rule — government
  6. chest — of your body
  7. snap — to click
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bark — to shout
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. stem — to come from
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. chest — a box
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chest — of your body

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