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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: content · bark · leaves · chair · stem · snap · scale · rule

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. scale — in music
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. content — happy
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. rule — government
  13. content — the amount
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rule — a law
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bark — to shout
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  24. scale — for weighing

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