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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: mug · march · bound · stem · rest · kid · bark · file

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rest — a break
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bound — obliged
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. march — the month
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bound — tied together
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bound — certain
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mug — to rob
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. file — a tool
  18. stem — to come from
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rest — what's left
  21. kid — child
  22. mug — a cup
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. file — a document

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