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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bark — to shout
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stem — to come from
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cold — not warm
  10. last — final
  11. rash — hasty
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. last — to go on
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rash — a series
  19. cold — an illness
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rest — a break
  22. last — finally
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. ball — a round shape

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