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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: spring · field · rash · bark · drill · stem · key · hide

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. field — farmland
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. spring — a coil
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bark — to shout
  10. key — in music
  11. rash — a series
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. key — for a lock
  14. spring — the season
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. drill — the tool
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spring — of water
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. key — the most important part
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. drill — army training
  24. stem — to come from

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