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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stem — to come from
  3. march — music
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. hand — help
  8. march — the month
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bark — to shout
  20. hand — in cards
  21. march — the month
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. straw — a straw man

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