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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rest — what's left
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. mate — to breed
  10. capital — a city
  11. mate — a friend
  12. capital — money
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ground — a position
  16. mate — a partner
  17. field — for sport
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bark — to shout
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. capital — a big letter

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