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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. field — farmland
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. kick — in football
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. deal — to handle
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. field — a subject
  21. branch — a division
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. branch — of a tree

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