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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bark — to shout
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. key — the most important part
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. key — for a lock
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kick — in football
  17. key — in music
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rash — a series
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. rash — hasty

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