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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 116 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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. stem — to come from
  3. last — finally
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. staff — employees
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. staff — employees
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. staff — a stick
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bark — to shout
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mate — a partner
  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