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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: wound · drill · object · chair · bark · pound · spring · stem

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wound — an injury
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. spring — the season
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. object — an aim
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stem — to come from
  19. object — a thing
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pound — a weight
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. object — to protest

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