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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: ball · stem · squash · rush · bark · cell · lie · fork

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. squash — the sport
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. stem — to come from
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cell — in biology
  17. ball — a great time
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bark — to shout
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cell — in a prison

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