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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: bark · bulb · stem · spring · lean · spell · ground · staff

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. spring — of water
  9. stem — to come from
  10. staff — employees
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. staff — a stick
  15. spring — a coil
  16. lean — to bend
  17. ground — a position
  18. spell — letters
  19. lean — thin
  20. staff — employees
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. spring — the season

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