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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. spell — letters
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. plane — a tool
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. last — finally
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pound — a weight
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spell — magic
  23. plane — in geometry
  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