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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mark — a grade
  3. field — for sport
  4. bark — to shout
  5. field — a subject
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. chest — of your body
  8. field — farmland
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chest — a box
  17. lean — thin
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mark — a trace
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. ruler — a monarch

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