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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. file — a line of people
  3. squash — to crush
  4. file — a tool
  5. season — of the year
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. field — farmland
  8. squash — the sport
  9. court — for sport
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. field — for sport
  16. bark — to shout
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. field — a subject
  21. file — a document
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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