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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 cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. saw — the tool
  3. field — for sport
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — a country
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — ground
  10. saw — the tool
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. land — to come down
  13. field — farmland
  14. toast — bread
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. chest — a box
  18. bark — to shout
  19. chest — of your body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. field — a subject
  24. racket — for tennis

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