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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: rest · prune · face · bark · chair · row · dip · stem

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rest — what's left
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rest — a break
  10. stem — to come from
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. chair — a leader
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bark — to shout
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rest — what's left
  22. face — to confront
  23. row — to paddle
  24. stem — of a plant

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