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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: land · tube · spring · bark · fork · game · wake · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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. tube — in a tire
  4. land — to come down
  5. tube — the underground
  6. stem — to come from
  7. land — a country
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. tube — a container
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. game — wild animals
  14. spring — of water
  15. game — a match
  16. wake — a trail
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. land — ground
  21. spring — the season
  22. fork — in a road
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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