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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: stem · file · date · object · pit · bark · race · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. race — a contest
  4. file — a document
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. object — an aim
  8. bark — to shout
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. object — to protest
  13. date — the fruit
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pit — a hole
  19. object — a thing
  20. race — humankind
  21. rock — a stone
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pit — in a race
  24. date — on the calendar

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