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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: toast · stem · mate · wind · kick · last · band · bark

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. mate — a friend
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bark — to shout
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. kick — in football
  12. band — a music group
  13. mate — to breed
  14. last — finally
  15. toast — bread
  16. last — to go on
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mate — a partner
  21. band — a ring
  22. last — final
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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