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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chest — a box
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wind — moving air
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. track — a song
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. vault — a safe
  14. track — a path
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. chest — of your body
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chest — of your body
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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