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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: drill · mine · stem · bark · ground · arm · rock · perch

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rock — music
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bark — to shout
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. ground — a position
  9. drill — army training
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. mine — for digging
  12. ground — crushed
  13. drill — the tool
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rock — a stone
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. perch — for a bird

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