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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. field — farmland
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. field — for sport
  10. rush — hurry
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stock — goods
  13. present — the time now
  14. march — music
  15. stem — to come from
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. present — a gift
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. stock — shares
  23. present — there
  24. rush — a thrill

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