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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rule — government
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. face — to confront
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. shower — rain
  12. face — part of the head
  13. field — for sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. rule — a law
  18. field — a subject
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. face — to point toward
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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