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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: trunk · stem · hand · tear · rest · rash · bark · file

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stem — to come from
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. rash — hasty
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. hand — help
  24. bark — to shout

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