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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. last — finally
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. last — final
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. march — music
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. last — to go on
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bore — to drill
  20. march — the month
  21. bore — to tire
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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