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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: bark · trunk · drill · kid · rush · lean · stem · pitcher

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rush — hurry
  3. kid — to tease
  4. lean — thin
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. drill — army training
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. drill — a practice
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. stem — a stem cell

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