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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 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bass — the fish
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bass — low music
  16. last — to go on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. spell — letters
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. spell — magic
  24. last — finally

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