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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stem — to come from
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chest — a box
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. game — a match
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pop — music
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bark — to shout

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