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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. field — for sport
  3. present — there
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — a subject
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. field — farmland
  11. track — a path
  12. lie — to recline
  13. track — to keep track
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. net — in sport
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. track — a song
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bark — to shout
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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