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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. ground — a position
  4. stem — to come from
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. last — to go on
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. march — the month
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. ground — the earth
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. rush — hurry
  17. march — the month
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — a weight
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. march — music

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