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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: trunk · cold · cap · rule · scale · jam · bark · stem

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cap — a hat
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. rule — government
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cold — not warm
  15. scale — size or range
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. scale — in music
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. trunk — of a car

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