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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: spring · stem · bark · saw · board · deal · temple · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stem — to come from
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — to tease
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. board — a committee
  17. saw — the tool
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. board — to get on
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. deal — to handle

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