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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bore — to drill
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cell — in biology
  14. spell — magic
  15. field — farmland
  16. spell — letters
  17. bore — to tire
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pitch — completely
  22. spell — a short time
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. date — on the calendar

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