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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: bark · stem · mine · rule · mate · present · fall · lean

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stem — to come from
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. present — there
  11. mate — to breed
  12. lean — thin
  13. fall — the season
  14. present — a gift
  15. mine — for digging
  16. rule — a law
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. present — the time now
  21. lean — to bend
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bark — of a tree

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