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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: net · rash · ground · branch · bark · pass · stem · cold

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. net — for catching
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. branch — a division
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. net — in sport
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ground — a position
  17. pass — a permit
  18. ground — the earth
  19. net — after costs
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  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