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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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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: cold · rest · stem · deal · cell · squash · bark · safe

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rest — a break
  5. cold — an illness
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cold — not warm
  8. squash — to crush
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. bark — to shout
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. stem — to come from
  21. squash — the sport
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. squash — the vegetable

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