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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: fall · rest · stem · branch · present · key · bark · squash

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. present — a gift
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bark — to shout
  7. key — for a lock
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rest — a break
  10. fall — to drop
  11. key — in music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rest — what's left
  14. present — the time now
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rest — what's left
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. fall — the season
  21. branch — a division
  22. present — there
  23. squash — the sport
  24. branch — of a bank

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