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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · kid · stand · roll · game · stem · content · land

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. land — ground
  3. game — a match
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. roll — a list
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bark — to shout
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. stem — to come from
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. content — the amount
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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