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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: leaves · press · bark · mine · chest · cell · lie · stem

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chest — of your body
  15. press — a publisher
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. press — to push
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stem — to come from
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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