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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 116 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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. patient — calm and waiting
  5. club — a group
  6. field — a subject
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mark — a trace
  9. land — ground
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — for sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mark — a grade
  14. field — farmland
  15. drill — a practice
  16. content — happy
  17. club — for golf
  18. content — the amount
  19. drill — army training
  20. land — to come down
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. land — a country
  24. patient — a sick person

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