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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. hand — help
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. last — to go on
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — to come from
  16. hand — in cards
  17. last — finally
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. last — final
  23. drill — army training
  24. sharp — with an edge

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