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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. present — the time now
  3. fork — in a road
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. present — a gift
  6. last — final
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wound — an injury
  9. shower — rain
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bass — the fish
  14. present — there
  15. shower — to wash
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. last — finally
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stem — to come from
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wound — an injury

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