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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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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 · cell · land · race · bark · bank · bay · stem

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bank — for money
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chest — a box
  6. cell — a phone
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. land — to come down
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. land — a country
  19. bank — for money
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. race — a contest
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — the arms race

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