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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bound — obliged
  3. drill — army training
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. bass — the fish
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bound — tied together
  12. land — ground
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bass — low music
  16. toast — bread
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bound — certain
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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