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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fall — to drop
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. can — a tin
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. last — to go on
  10. field — farmland
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. can — to be able to
  13. fall — to drop
  14. can — a tin
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. field — for sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. last — final
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. fall — the season
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. field — a subject

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