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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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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 · mouse · swing · arm · wake · patient · race · stem

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wake — a trail
  8. race — humankind
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. race — a contest
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stem — a stem cell

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