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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bark — to shout
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. last — finally
  5. key — in music
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. last — final
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. key — for a lock
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. chip — for betting
  18. band — a music group
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. key — the most important part
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. last — to go on

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