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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. fork — in a road
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. field — a subject
  6. club — for golf
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. swing — music
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. club — a group
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. content — happy
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bark — of a tree

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