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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. sharp — clever
  5. last — to go on
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rest — what's left
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. stem — to come from
  12. last — final
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. last — finally
  20. bear — the animal
  21. kick — in football
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. kick — a thrill

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