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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. lie — to recline
  9. field — a subject
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. field — for sport
  20. sharp — clever
  21. field — farmland
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. mine — for digging

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