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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mug — a cup
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. fork — in a road
  12. rash — a series
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. field — a subject
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. field — for sport
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. mug — to rob
  23. field — farmland
  24. mug — a face

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