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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 120 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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rule — government
  7. bound — certain
  8. rule — a law
  9. last — final
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bound — tied together
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. bound — obliged
  23. hand — help
  24. rule — to rule out

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