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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · rash · last · mine · pound · fine · stem · mark

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fine — all right
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mark — a trace
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fine — high quality
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mark — a grade
  12. last — finally
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. last — to go on
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. last — final
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pound — a weight

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