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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. hand — help
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. field — farmland
  12. present — a gift
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. present — the time now
  17. rule — a law
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. club — a group
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. present — there
  23. hand — in cards
  24. field — a subject

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