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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. firm — steady
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stem — to come from
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. firm — decided
  7. drill — the tool
  8. pound — a weight
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — money
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. drill — army training
  16. capital — a city
  17. shower — rain
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. drill — a practice
  20. shower — to wash
  21. firm — a company
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. capital — a big letter

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