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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. hand — help
  5. last — to go on
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bass — the fish
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — in cards
  24. coach — a trainer

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