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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: charge · kid · tear · bat · stand · bark · land · stem

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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. tear — from crying
  4. kid — child
  5. bark — to shout
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — ground
  9. charge — in control
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. land — a country
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. charge — a price
  16. tear — to rip
  17. kid — to tease
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stand — to bear
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. land — to come down
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stand — on your feet

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