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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. stem — to come from
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. lean — thin
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. last — to go on
  10. mine — for digging
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. lean — to bend
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bark — to shout
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. last — finally
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. ball — a dance
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. racket — for tennis

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