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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. field — farmland
  4. craft — boats
  5. sharp — clever
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bark — to shout
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. field — a subject
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. present — a gift
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. present — the time now
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. field — for sport
  16. fork — in a road
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bass — low music
  20. craft — a skill
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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