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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cabinet · mark · leaves · bowl · cold · staff · bark · stem

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bark — to shout
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. staff — employees
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cold — the Cold War

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