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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · stem · scale · toast · prune · coach · bark · face

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. toast — bread
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. face — part of the head
  6. march — the month
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — to shout
  9. face — to confront
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. face — to point toward
  15. stem — to come from
  16. march — music
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. scale — size or range
  22. march — the month
  23. prune — to trim
  24. coach — a trainer

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