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

Word bank: bark · fork · mark · stem · staff · bear

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. fork — in a road
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bark — to shout
  11. staff — employees
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mark — a trace
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mark — a grade

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