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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. field — for sport
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. face — to point toward
  8. field — a subject
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. face — to confront
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. cell — in biology
  15. field — farmland
  16. cell — a phone
  17. face — part of the head
  18. ball — a dance

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