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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. field — farmland
  5. wound — an injury
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bark — to shout
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wound — an injury
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. field — for sport
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. net — after costs
  18. ball — a great time
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. field — a subject
  24. face — to confront

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