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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bark — to shout
  5. field — a subject
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. staff — a stick
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. field — for sport
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. toast — bread
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. kick — in football
  24. field — farmland

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