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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: bark · chip · stem · band · kid · hand · wound · pit

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chip — for betting
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pit — in a race
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. kid — child
  13. hand — help
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wound — an injury
  21. band — a ring
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chip — in a computer

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