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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. last — to go on
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mark — a grade
  4. last — final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stem — to come from
  7. scale — size or range
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bark — to shout
  13. branch — a division
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. scale — in music
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. mark — a trace
  18. last — finally
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. scale — for weighing
  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