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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 120 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rule — a law
  5. land — to come down
  6. field — for sport
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. field — a subject
  9. land — a country
  10. tube — a container
  11. track — to keep track
  12. land — ground
  13. track — a song
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rule — government
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. field — farmland
  18. tube — the underground
  19. track — a path
  20. wake — a trail
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. tube — in a tire

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