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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 120 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. mug — a face
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. mug — a cup
  17. field — farmland
  18. chair — a leader
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chair — a professorship

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