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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. field — farmland
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rest — a break
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. field — a subject
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rock — music
  14. bark — to shout
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rock — a stone
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. perch — the fish
  24. field — for sport

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