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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. staff — employees
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stem — to come from
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. firm — steady
  14. ground — a position
  15. staff — a stick
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — decided
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. staff — employees
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. band — a ring

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