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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 · content · cue · hide · stem · wind · ball · last

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stem — to come from
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cue — for pool
  6. last — to go on
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cue — a hint
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cue — a signal
  14. last — finally
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. last — final
  20. ball — a great time
  21. wind — moving air
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. wind — moving air
  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