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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. field — a subject
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. row — a line
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. fall — to drop
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. stand — to bear
  13. scale — size or range
  14. field — farmland
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. row — to paddle
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bark — to shout
  20. plane — a tool
  21. field — for sport
  22. scale — in music
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. fall — the season

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