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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. hand — help
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. last — final
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bark — to shout
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. last — finally
  16. pitch — completely
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. pop — music
  23. last — to go on
  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