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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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 — a subject
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. stand — to bear
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. charge — a price
  10. key — the most important part
  11. kid — child
  12. content — the amount
  13. bark — to shout
  14. ball — a dance
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. charge — electricity
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. kid — to tease
  20. charge — in control
  21. field — for sport
  22. ball — a great time
  23. field — farmland
  24. key — in music

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