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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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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: date · root · stem · content · bark · race · racket · rule

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. content — happy
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bark — to shout
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. race — the arms race
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. race — humankind
  16. content — the amount
  17. root — the cause
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. race — a contest
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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