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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. field — a subject
  8. bore — to drill
  9. field — for sport
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bark — to shout
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fine — all right
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. field — farmland
  18. stock — shares
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. stock — goods

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