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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. field — a subject
  2. rest — a break
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. season — of the year
  6. field — farmland
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. squash — the sport
  11. board — to get on
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. squash — to crush
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. rest — what's left
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. board — a committee
  22. season — in sport
  23. rest — what's left
  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