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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: board · patient · bark · ruler · stock · stem · row · land

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. stem — to come from
  5. land — ground
  6. row — to paddle
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. board — a committee
  9. land — to come down
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. row — a line
  17. stock — shares
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. stock — goods
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. board — to get on
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. land — a country

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