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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. last — final
  5. rest — what's left
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. rest — a break
  11. roll — a cake
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. last — to go on
  16. bank — for money
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — a trace
  20. field — farmland
  21. roll — a list
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. roll — on a roll

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