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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: stem · shower · mark · tube · bound · lean · bark · ground

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ground — a position
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. ground — crushed
  6. lean — to bend
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. ground — the earth
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bound — certain
  18. lean — thin
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mark — a grade
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. tube — a container
  24. shower — rain

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