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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 · wound · field · kid · rush · bark · charge · rock

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rock — music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. kid — child
  9. charge — a price
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. charge — electricity
  16. field — a subject
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rock — a stone
  19. field — farmland
  20. charge — in control
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. field — for sport
  24. stem — of a plant

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