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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. court — for sport
  3. last — finally
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bark — to shout
  7. court — of a king
  8. field — a subject
  9. court — of law
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. tube — a container
  13. field — for sport
  14. last — final
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tube — the underground
  20. last — to go on
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. field — farmland
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pit — a hole

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