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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. ground — a position
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. chip — for betting
  6. field — a subject
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mate — a partner
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. ground — crushed
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — farmland
  21. lie — to recline
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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