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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. last — final
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. last — to go on
  5. field — a subject
  6. bark — to shout
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cue — a hint
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cue — a signal
  12. field — farmland
  13. cue — for pool
  14. key — in music
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. key — the most important part
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — for sport
  21. last — finally
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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