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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chest — of your body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chest — a box
  8. cell — in biology
  9. mate — to breed
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. lean — thin
  22. cell — a phone
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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