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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. date — the fruit
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — moving air
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. mine — for digging
  24. date — on the calendar

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