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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: mark · bark · race · bank · stem · kick · ground · bat

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bark — to shout
  16. ground — crushed
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. ground — a position
  19. kick — in football
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bank — for money
  24. bark — of a tree

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