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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. clip — a video
  6. staff — employees
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. field — a subject
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bark — to shout
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. staff — employees
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. pound — a weight
  20. clip — to cut
  21. field — farmland
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. clip — for paper

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