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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. snap — to click
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. land — to come down
  6. stem — to come from
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. band — a music group
  10. wake — a trail
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. toast — bread
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. band — a ring
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. wake — before a funeral

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