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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 120 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: ground · bound · pass · cold · straw · bark · snap · stem

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ground — crushed
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pass — a permit
  13. ground — the earth
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bark — to shout
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ground — a position
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. bound — obliged

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