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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ruler · bound · cold · bark · stem · track · nail · root

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bound — certain
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. track — a path
  9. bound — tied together
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bark — to shout
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. track — a song
  22. root — of a word
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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