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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 · ground · bound · craft · patient · bat · bark · shower

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bound — certain
  3. bat — the animal
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bound — obliged
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bound — tied together
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — rain
  18. ground — crushed
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bark — to shout
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. craft — boats

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