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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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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: mark · lie · present · bark · last · rest · wound · band

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. last — final
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mark — a trace
  5. last — finally
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rest — what's left
  8. present — a gift
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rest — a break
  14. present — the time now
  15. mark — a grade
  16. band — a ring
  17. lie — to recline
  18. present — there
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. band — a music group
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bark — to shout

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