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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. field — farmland
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. current — electric
  5. current — of water
  6. fall — the season
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. current — happening now
  9. field — for sport
  10. bark — to shout
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. fine — all right
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fine — high quality
  21. field — a subject
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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