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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ball — a great time
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bark — to shout
  6. field — a subject
  7. court — of law
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. court — of a king
  14. stand — to bear
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — for sport
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. staff — employees
  23. ball — a dance
  24. staff — employees

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