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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 116 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: bank · rash · file · cell · bark · stem · court · rule

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. court — of law
  4. bank — for money
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bank — for money
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rash — a series
  11. file — a tool
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rule — a law
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. file — a document
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. court — of a king

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