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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. field — a subject
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. track — a path
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. field — farmland
  19. track — to keep track
  20. field — for sport
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. track — a song
  23. kick — in football
  24. bowl — to roll

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