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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: rash · lean · wake · snap · race · degree · stem · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. lean — thin
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. race — humankind
  9. bark — to shout
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. rash — a series
  13. snap — to click
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. rash — hasty
  24. lean — to rest against

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