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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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 — finally
  2. present — there
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pop — to visit
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pop — music
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. game — a match
  12. band — a music group
  13. present — the time now
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. last — final
  16. present — a gift
  17. band — a ring
  18. game — wild animals
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pop — soda
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. last — to go on
  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