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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. last — final
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. saw — the tool
  7. last — finally
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. swing — to play on
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mug — to rob
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. last — to go on
  15. bark — to shout
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wind — moving air
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wind — moving air
  22. swing — music
  23. mug — a face
  24. bark — of a tree

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