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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. drill — the tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. drill — a practice
  10. field — for sport
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cell — in biology
  13. field — a subject
  14. rule — government
  15. bark — to shout
  16. rule — a law
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. shower — rain
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. drill — army training
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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