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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: chest · stem · spring · pitcher · fine · bark · rock · clip

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. fine — all right
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rock — music
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. chest — a box
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stem — to come from
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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