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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. scale — in music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. field — a subject
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. field — for sport
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. game — wild animals
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. scale — size or range

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