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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 116 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: row · mate · bark · bass · object · stem · last · land

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. object — to protest
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. object — an aim
  10. land — ground
  11. last — final
  12. object — a thing
  13. row — a line
  14. bass — low music
  15. row — to paddle
  16. last — finally
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. last — to go on
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mate — a partner
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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