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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: deal · stem · arm · sharp · mate · bark · shower · cold

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. shower — rain
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. deal — to handle
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cold — not warm
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. sharp — clever
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. stem — to come from
  24. deal — an agreement

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