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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: mate · mine · last · bulb · lean · plane · bark · stem

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mate — a friend
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bulb — for light
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. stem — to come from
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. plane — a tool
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mate — a partner
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bulb — for light
  24. last — to go on

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