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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 · pit · hand · cold · mark · bark · straw · coach

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. mark — a grade
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bark — to shout
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pit — in a race
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hand — help
  16. mark — a trace
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cold — an illness
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stem — to come from
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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