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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mark — a trace
  4. wind — moving air
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cold — not warm
  14. band — a ring
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lean — thin
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — to pay attention

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