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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: pit · pound · cap · sharp · bark · stem · straw · wind

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. stem — to come from
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cap — of ice
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pit — a hole

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