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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 120 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: bat · rush · bark · rule · last · court · lean · stem

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — hurry
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. last — finally
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. last — final
  9. bark — to shout
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. lean — thin
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rule — a law
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. court — for sport
  22. last — to go on
  23. rule — government
  24. court — of law

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