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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — music
  5. field — a subject
  6. bound — certain
  7. prune — to trim
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bound — tied together
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — in cards
  16. field — for sport
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bark — to shout
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bound — obliged

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