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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — a weight
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. last — final
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. drill — army training
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. last — to go on
  24. bark — to shout

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