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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. field — a subject
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mate — a partner
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. field — farmland
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. tear — to rip
  23. row — a line
  24. field — for sport

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