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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.

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: hide · stem · date · bat · bark · cabinet · trunk · content

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. stem — to come from
  7. content — happy
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bat — the animal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. content — the amount
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. stem — a stem cell

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