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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: bore · ball · stem · bark · squash · court · leaves · wound

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stem — to come from
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. court — of a king
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. court — of law
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. court — for sport
  18. ball — a great time
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. wound — an injury

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