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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: bark · stem · spring · cabinet · chip · tube · season · date

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chip — to eat
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. season — of the year
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. tube — the underground
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. chip — for betting
  21. season — in sport
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. spring — a coil
  24. date — the fruit

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